


Breaking The Tempest

by stupidlilartist



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Hurt Emily Prentiss, Hurt Spencer Reid, Implied/Referenced Rape, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapped Emily Prentiss, Kidnapped Spencer Reid, Kidnapping, Rape Recovery, Set In Season 7/8, Torture, Torture Recovery, Trigger Warnings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:27:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28553871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidlilartist/pseuds/stupidlilartist
Summary: The day after JJ's wedding, Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid went missing.That was three months ago.Three months ago, The BAU arrived at the crime scene to find a pool of blood and a bloody handprint - which ended up being their only information throughout the entire investigation. The case went cold, the agents were presumed dead, and the BAU fell apart.After ninety days of nothing, they received new information - Spencer and Emily were dropped off at the hospital.Recovery is hard. It's even harder when the torturers are still out there. How can the BAU find the unsubs while managing two broken victims?[UPDATING SOON, THE END OF THE SEMESTER IS HERE AND IT HAS ME BUSY!]
Relationships: Emily Prentiss & Spencer Reid, The BAU Team & Emily Prentiss, The BAU Team & Spencer Reid
Comments: 51
Kudos: 192





	1. The Cut That Always Bleeds

Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid were not replaceable nor expendable. Both agents were extremely skilled in what they do and they're viable assets to the team. They're intelligent and useful. Most importantly to the task at hand, they're high-risk targets because of their skills. That's what Aaron Hotchner thought to himself three months ago as he stared at the brutal crime scene photos.

Three months ago, Emily told him she was considering leaving. Still, they proceeded to make it a good time, despite the ache in Aaron's heart - he didn't want to lose her again, but he understood. He knew Morgan and Reid would take it the hardest, and so did Emily.

That's why the day after JJ's wedding, despite her nasty hangover, she offered to hang out with Spencer. They got dinner, watched a movie in its original form just the way Reid liked it- and that's where their tracks stopped. Their team, local PD, and detectives were left with a bloody crime scene and that was it. No suspects, no cameras, no DNA. Just a pool of blood and a red handprint on the sidewalk which they could confirm was Reid's.

Three months ago the BAU gradually fell apart. A month after their abduction, their case went cold. They couldn't argue against it, for they still had nothing but a crime scene. They were presumed dead, even held a memorial for them, and nailed their photos to the wall. The team knew they were still alive. They couldn't prove it, but it was their mutual gut feeling. The team was forced to move past it quickly, though, for the sake of saving other victims' lives. Emily and Spencer would want that.

Hotch walked out of the elevator and into the office. It was quiet, besides the tapping from computers in the bullpen. A paperwork day was always quite relaxing for him. Even if a case were to come in, he cherished the time he got where there was no chaos, no life-threatening situations, or talking an unsub out of killing somebody. He found that after Reid and Prentiss went missing, he liked paperwork days a lot more. He could think about them more instead of clearing them from his mind to focus on a case.

He met Morgan in the breakroom, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Morgan had taken the abduction just as hard as they expected. Emily and Spencer have both been kidnapped before - by Hankle and Doyle, but his anger then was only a fraction of how he felt now. It was as if each passing day he got angrier and angrier. He wanted nothing more than to ring whoever took his best friends' neck.

"Morning." Derek greeted quietly.

"Did you sleep?" Hotch asked as Morgan handed him the coffee pot.

"Yeah," Hotch could tell he was lying, but he brushed it aside for the time being, "Did you?"

However, he didn't sleep either, "I did."

That was how conversations went now. Lies about how they were doing and nothing but small talk. Even Penelope couldn't spark an entertaining conversation. She had changed a lot. She maintained her style but her personality was a lot duller than it was. She would trade anything to get Emily and Spencer back alive. Her heart constantly ached.

Once Morgan exited the break room, JJ entered. The blonde sent a quick smile towards him before filling a coffee cup with water. She placed it in the microwave with a teabag. 

"No coffee?" Hotch asked.

"I'm making tea for Garcia. She's having a rough morning." She sighed, leaning against the counter.

There were a lot of rough mornings. Penelope expressed her rough mornings a lot more than the others did, though. Despite her own pain, JJ made sure to comfort her every chance she had. Morgan seemingly no longer checked on her every morning. He had isolated himself. Still, Morgan and Garcia talked to each other on the phone and loved each other more than anything. They just needed some time.

"Tell her I said I hope she feels better." Hotch grabbed his coffee and left the breakroom.

On his way to his office, he stopped by Rossi's, just to check on him. Rossi was great at containing his emotions and keeping a 'brave face', but Hotch knew he was hurting. He didn't know Reid and Prentiss as long as everybody else did, but he considered them family just as much. 

The Italian sat at his desk, writing down a profile for a friend in the Chicago PD. They weren't called down, but Rossi determined it was a friendly gesture. Upon Hotch's arrival, he set his pen down and looked up at him with a smile full of sympathy.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Nothing. I was just wondering how you were doing." Hotch walked across the room and to his desk, taking a seat in front of it.

"Just as good as I can be." The other folded his hands on his desk and studied his expression, "What about you?"

Hotch pursed his lips before replying, "This team isn't the same."

"I know, Aaron. We just need some time. It's only been a few months." 

"Yeah. _Only_ a few months to us, but to Reid and Prentiss it feels like a lifetime." Hotch's words were full of emotion yet his face remained stone cold.

Rossi's eyes downcasted to his lap, focusing on controlling the newly forming lump in his throat for a moment. Then, they flickered back up to the unit chief.

"You think they're still pulling through?" He asked.

Aaron nodded, "I can't explain it. I just know."

"Me too."

The door to Rossi's office slammed against the wall and they turned to find Garcia standing in the doorframe. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to fall at any moment. She was distraught, mouth hanging open. Her limbs were shaking and she stood completely still. For a second, her mind went blank and she had no idea what to say.

"What's wrong?" Rossi stood up from his chair in concern.

Both men approached her with worry and she closed her eyes, filling her lungs with as much oxygen as they could hold before talking.

Her voice trembled as she spoke, "Northern Virginia Medical Center called me. Apparently, somebody dropped two people outside of the hospital and, and..." She paused, looking for her voice.

Rossi's eyes widened and Hotch was thinking the same as he was.

"It's Reid and Prentiss, isn't it?" Rossi asked.

Garcia put her hand over her mouth and nodded. She wasn't sure how to process the information or how to feel about it. She was so grateful they had found them, but they never told her whether or not they were alive.

"Gather the team," Hotch ordered.

The three of them split up, gathering the rest of the team into the roundtable room.

"What's going on?" Morgan arched a brow, sitting next to a sobbing Penelope and grabbing her hand to calm her down. 

"Northern Virginia Medical Center called. Somebody dropped off Prentiss and Reid." Hotch stated.

The roundtable exploded with several different emotions. Thankfulness, happiness, worry, shock, confusion. Nobody said a word, though.

Hotch continued, "We need to expect the very worst. They've been in captivity for months. They may not trust us or want to be with us at first, and that's okay. We have to treat them the same way we treat other trauma patients, as hard as that may be. We also expect that whoever did this is still free. Whether we're called in or not, we're working on this case. I will understand completely if you can't handle some parts of our investigation, don't be afraid to speak out. Everybody understand?"

They nodded, still remaining silent.

"Let's go." 

Hotch drove with JJ and Garcia while Rossi rode with Morgan. 

"Why would somebody just drop them off?" JJ asked, brows furrowing. Her eyes were red with tears.

"That's what we'll figure out," Hotch replied.

"I can check security when we get there." Garcia offered, wiping the running down mascara off her face.

"Sounds good." 

JJ sighed, pressing her hand against her aching forehead, "Hopefully they accepted treatment."

Meanwhile, Rossi noticed how dangerously quiet Morgan was. Any second he could pull the car over and bang his fists against the steering wheel until they bruised and bled. As much as he wanted to, he didn't. He sat straight with a clenched jaw and eyes focused on the road ahead.

"They're going to be alright," Rossi reassured.

"You're never the person you used to be after months of abuse," Morgan responded quietly.

Rossi didn't reply. He swallowed hard, staring at his lap once again in order to blink back tears. 

They arrived at the hospital in a few minutes, jogging through the parking lot and into the emergency room entrance. They gathered around the front desk, nervous to see how Emily and Spencer were doing.

"We're here to see Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid," Hotch stated.

The receptionist typed away at her computer but a voice behind them caught their attention.

"Are you Spencer Reid's team?" A woman asked, taking off her latex gloves and squirting some hand sanitizer from the wall into her palm

They all nodded frantically.

"At first I was afraid I identified the wrong person since he wouldn't tell me his name, but we found him on missing persons and figured out he was a BAU agent, so I called you." She realized she was rambling and shook it off - something that reminded the team of Spencer, "He got out of surgery and is stable for now. We gave him a sedative to run some tests but he should be waking up in a few hours."

"How is he? What happened?" JJ asked, bringing her nails to her mouth out of habit.

"He's severely malnourished and dehydrated. He has seven broken ribs, none of which punctured his lungs luckily. We had to remove one kidney since it had been stabbed repeatedly. What was weird is that he came in with stitches, both him and Miss Prentiss. They were improper so we had to remove them and perform our own procedure."

 _The unsub was taking care of them?_ Everything about the case so far confused them.

"He also has multiple stab wounds, some of which were inflicted months ago, some are new. I'll save you some time and send in his medical report. I'm sure it will be better if you sit down and read it." The woman spun around on her heel to go retrieve his report but was stopped by one last question.

"Have you heard anything about Emily Prentiss?" Garcia asked frantically.

"I saw her when she arrived. She's still in surgery as far as I know."

"How did she look?" Morgan questioned, brows pulled together. 

The doctor paused for a second, "I don't know how to describe it in a way to not upset you. She was visibly in the same condition as Dr. Reid, but she was holding her severed hand."

Time seemingly stopped. No amount of preparation could prevent their shock, tears, or nausea. Hearing stab wounds and broken ribs was one thing, it was another to hear that Emily's hand had been cut off. The amount of torture they had faced was unknown to them, but they could determine that it was one of the worst cases they've ever seen.

"Surgeons are working around the clock to reattach it." She informed before disappearing down the hall.

As they proceeded to the waiting room chairs, Morgan remained frozen. His fists were clenched, one down by his side and the other against his lips, beneath his crinkled nose. His eyes were squeezed shut and his brows were furrowed. Hotch stood with him, grabbing his wrist gently.

"Morgan. Let's take a seat." Hotch suggested, trying to pry him out of his angered state.

He didn't move, however. Hotch heard him take a sharp inhale through his nose.

"The son of a bitch cut off her hand." He mumbled.

"They're going to reattach it." The unit chief assured.

"She didn't list all of the kid's injuries, Hotch." At this point, his voice was shaking, "How bad can it be to the point where a doctor can't say it out loud?"

"Lovebug, please take a seat. I'll get you some water." Garcia pleaded through tears.

"I don't want water. I want this bastard dead." Finally, Morgan opened his eyes and unballed his fists. A tear ran down his cheek but he wiped it away and sat down next to Rossi.

"We'll begin working the case as soon as we retrieve Reid's medical report. Garcia can search for any survivors with similar injuries and then we can begin profiling." Hotch explained as he sat down.

The doctor returned shortly after with a file and handed it to Hotch.

"Is there anywhere we can work this case in private?" Rossi requested.

The doctor nodded, "Follow me."

They trailed behind her through the halls before welcoming them into an empty conference room. When she closed the door, JJ pulled the curtains closed to be sure nobody could see them working. They gathered around the table as Hotch took one of the papers out of the file. He read it silently at first.

_'Patient: Spencer Reid_   
_Date Of Birth: October 28th, 1981_   
_Sex: Male_

_Dr. Reid is a thirty-year-old agent who went missing approximately three months ago. He was sent to the emergency room at four-thirty in the morning by an unknown person. He would not speak, so we were unable to determine his pain scale, only examine his injuries. Dr. Reid is extremely malnourished, dehydrated, and underweight. He has obtained seven fractured ribs and several stab wounds to the torso, one of which resulted in the removal of the left kidney but no other organs were damaged. I have found many welts on the back, shoulders, chest, and torso. There are deep and profound bite marks on the upper thighs. Several burns on the perineum were found and there are signs of frequent and repeated rape. There are bruising and abrasions all over the body as well as rope burn on the wrists and ankles._

_Treatment plans will be discussed with the family and the patient and change as the patient heals. Antibiotics to treat infections are being administered as well as acetaminophen to reduce pain and help dehydration and ampicillin to treat malnourishment. The patient received fifty-seven stitches. Bandages should be changed every three hours to assure no bacteria will get in the wounds. Ice can be used to reduce bruising.'_

Hotch stared at the paper even after he was done reading it in complete and utter disbelief. It was only after Rossi placed a hand on his shoulder when he realized he had begun crying. He blinked back the tears and began passing Reid's medical report around the table so everybody else could read it.

After a few minutes of silence, Morgan slammed his fist on the table, causing Garcia to flinch. JJ covered her eyes with her hands, rubbing them over and over as if she couldn't stop seeing the words on the page. Penelope was crying once again. 

"I need a second," Rossi stood from the table and walked out of the conference room.

He rushed into the men's bathroom and into a stall before harshly vomiting. He flushed the toilet and sat on his knees on the floor. He took a moment to cry - let his emotions shine through. He felt sick above it all. He had dealt with more violent cases in his lifetime, but it was different. He knew them. He knew Spencer's awkward smile and the way he would scrunch up his nose for just a split second. He knew Emily's bright smile and her witty jokes. Both of them were like a son and daughter or a niece and nephew to him. Seeing them so frail and terrified - he knew - would be a gunshot straight to the heart.

Eventually, he gathered himself and entered the conference room. Garcia was typing away, occasionally pausing to wipe at her tears, while everybody else stared at the table, waiting for his return.

"What do the security tapes show?" Rossi asked, sitting back down next to Hotch.

Aaron turned to him with an expression that said _'Are you okay?'_. Rossi immediately dismissed it with a nod.

Garcia had already watched the security footage and couldn't bring herself to speak about it. JJ noticed so she explained the situation herself.

"One white man in a ski mask got out of his black van and went to the trunk. He practically," She cleared her throat quickly, blinking back tears. "He practically ripped Spence out of the trunk and onto the ground. He was only wearing bloody gauze around him. He then carried him to the entrance. It seems like he was too tired to walk. Then he went back to Emily and did the same, except..." JJ took another pause, staring wide-eyed at her hands as she recalled the visual, "... Except, she was holding her own detached hand."

"Did you get a license plate?" Rossi questioned.

"Only part of one," Garcia replied.

"I doubt we're going to get much from Emily and Reid today. Might not even talk to us." Morgan explained, rubbing his forehead with frustration. 

"How can one unsub control two FBI agents? They're trained to handle kidnappers." Rossi put forth.

"I believe we're looking at a sadistic group," Hotch stated.

"Do you think they were trafficked?" JJ asked.

"If they were trafficked why would they be brought to the hospital for treatment? Traffickers stay under the radar for the most part and they sure as hell wouldn't bring a victim to the hospital - hand or no hand because they can always get a new victim when one dies." Morgan said, "I agree with Hotch."

"Guys," Garcia stated, "I'm coming up dry with the injury match."

Morgan shook his head, "This isn't making any sense whatsoever."

"Maybe one person of the group was forced to join or was paid. Months pass, he feels more and more remorse till eventually, he takes them to the hospital." JJ suggested.

"Most of the time they'll just kill themselves," Rossi said.

The team worked for two hours straight, suggesting and dismissing ideas as they began building a profile. A few things were certain: it was a group, they had land in the middle of nowhere because security footage reveals that they both were covered in dirt, and they were sadists. Otherwise, they had nothing until Spencer and Emily were comfortable enough for an interview.

The doctor came in with a nice smile, holding another file against her abdomen, "Emily Prentiss was released from surgery half an hour ago and I am happy to say that her hand was successfully reattached! We won't be able to determine much yet, but when she wakes up we'll be able to run more tests. I have her medical report right here."

They thanked her before Hotch passed out her report. He had to prepare himself for a second before reading the words on the paper.

_'Patient: Emily Prentiss_   
_Date Of Birth: October 12th, 1970_   
_Sex: Female_

_Agent Prentiss is a forty-one-year-old agent who went missing approximately three months ago. She was sent to the emergency room at four-thirty in the morning by an unknown person. She came in with a severed hand, sharply cut off. The left hand was successfully reattached. She is incredibly malnourished, dehydrated, and underweight. Many welts were found on her torso, back, chest, and shoulders. Cuts were made to the torso and stabs were frequent around the hip bones. Many cuts were found on her upper thighs as well as deep bite marks. The patient has sustained four broken ribs and a broken index finger on the right hand. She has a minor orbital fracture. The patient was found to have several vulvovaginal and hymeneal injuries and burns to the genitalia. There are bruising and abrasions all over the body as well as rope burn to the wrist and ankles._

_Treatment plans will be discussed with the family and the patient and change as the patient heals. Antibiotics were administered to treat infection as well as acetaminophen to treat pain and dehydration and ampicillin to help the malnourishment. The patient received one-hundred and twenty stitches. Bandages should be changed every three hours to assure no bacteria gets in her wounds. Ice can be used to reduce bruising and pain.'_

"I'm going to beat whoever did this to death," Morgan stated through clenched teeth.

Reading Emily's report was yet another stab to Hotch's heart. Recovery was going to be a lot harder than he ever imagined.


	2. Someone To Stay

Spencer Reid woke up to nothing but uncomfortable bright lights and pain. He refused to open his eyes - fearing what he might find. Constant beeping rung within his ears and caused his eyes to screw shut tightly. He wished he would just go back to sleep. With sleep, there was no pain. Unless they appeared.

"Hey, Reid." A dulcet, feminine voice replaced the constant beeping for a moment.

He let his eyes flutter open, just enough to see who the woman was. He was met with Penelope Garcia and her smile was sad. He closed them again, face contorting in a response to the pain. 

"Do you need anything?" She gently asked, keeping her voice quiet to assure she wouldn't irritate him.

He groaned lowly in discomfort, furrowing his brows. His boney hands slipped out from beneath the blanket and were placed on his torso as if his touch was going to get rid of the pain. It didn't, but he figured it was worth a shot.

Penelope swallowed back the lump in her throat. Her eyes wandered to his wrist bones that protruded out of his skin more than they usually did before. His entire body was frail and boney. His cheekbones were more prominent, his collarbone stuck out from beneath the hospital gown. To make it all worse, there were bruises everywhere. Garcia felt that if she touched him, he would break.

"Do you know who I am?" She continued to try to get a response from him.

He nodded slightly, shifting his position a bit in hopes of getting more comfortable, but it was no use. 

_'Penelope Garcia'_ , he remembered, _'Intelligent, funny, happy, bright, one of the good guys. Garcia is your friend. She loves you, you can trust her. You can trust her. You can trust her. You can trust her. You can...'_

His eyes snapped open once again, this time they were wider. He looked into Penelope's, counting the number of colors he could find in her iris'. Only two. Dark brown and an even darker shade of brown. They reminded him of Emily's.

"Hey," She greeted his sudden eye-contact with a happy smile, "Hey, you."

He didn't think he even had a voice to talk, but he hummed in response. The hum was hoarse and cracked in the middle. His throat still ached from screaming. 

"You don't need to talk, just look at me." She assured, hesitating to put a hand on his arm but figured it was best if she kept her hands to herself for the time being.

Suddenly, his eyes ripped away from hers and darted around the room.

 _'Where's Emily?'_ As the thought crossed his mind, his heart began racing. Garcia arched a brow and turned her attention to his heart monitor. He began letting out fast and panicked breaths, body shaking in fear.

"Honey, you're okay! Shh, you're okay!" Garcia reassured, trying her best not to touch him.

"Where's Emily?" He asked fearfully.

His voice nearly made her cry. It was so unrecognizable and broken. She could tell it hurt him to speak.

"She's in the room across the hall, baby. She's okay." She stated, hoping it would calm him down.

"Did they hurt her?" He followed up with just as much concern.

"No, they helped her." She replied, finally gaining the courage to touch his chest gently to lean him back against the bed before he busted a stitch open.

He sunk into the bed, away from the touch, and she immediately felt bad even if she was only helping. His heart had slowed, but he was still terrified. He needed to see Emily to know that she was okay.

"Is it okay if I go outside for a few minutes? The rest of the team want to see you." Garcia asked, getting up from the bedside chair.

"I need to see Emily." He replied, straining his voice.

"Okay, my love, I'll be back in a second. Please stay there." She left cautiously, asking his nearby doctor to keep an eye on him while she was gone.

She approached the rest of the group, gathered in the hall between his and Emily's room. It was a difficult decision having Penelope be the first one he saw when he woke up. They figured it was best if his first contact was with a woman. Originally, they had suggested JJ, but Garcia had a more welcoming appearance and they figured worrying about going through a cognitive interview wouldn't occur if Garcia was their first contact.

"How is he?" Morgan asked as soon as he saw her leave his room.

"He opened his eyes and stared at me." She said with a weak smile, "He also talked, but I can tell it hurts him. He was looking for Emily and then asked to see her."

"They probably have separation issues with each other now," Rossi suggested and Hotch agreed. "They should move them into the same room as soon as they can."

"Is he calm?" Hotch asked.

Garcia's sad attempt at a smile faded into a frown, "No. He panicked when he noticed that Emily wasn't there. I asked if you guys could come see him, but he only seemed interested in Emily. I'm sure it'll be fine if two at a time came in, just to make sure we don't overwhelm him."

"JJ and Morgan can go next, but make sure JJ leads the way," Hotch suggested.

JJ nodded and began leading Derek into Reid's room. The doctor moved out of their way at the door and the blonde gently pushed it open. Spencer was closing his eyes, but they could tell he was awake because of the way his face expressed pain.

"Hey, Spence." JJ talked in a way she would with Henry when he was upset. Reid wasn't a child, but he needed comforting and lots of it. "It's JJ and Morgan."

 _'JJ and Morgan...'_ He thought for a moment before cracking an eye open to look at her. She smiled at him, taking a seat at his bedside as Morgan pulled up a chair to the other side.

Reid opened both of his eyes the whole way, staring back and forth between JJ and Morgan. He furrowed a confused brow, his heart monitor beating more frequently once again.

"What's wrong, Reid?" Morgan asked, placing his hand next to his arm.

Spencer didn't flinch away, however. He didn't even notice for his mind was worried about other things.

"Emily." He choked out.

"Emily is in the room right across from yours. You can see her when she wakes up." JJ explained, "I promise."

 _'This is JJ. You can trust her.'_ He nodded and swallowed hard.

"Do you want me to get you some water?" Morgan offered.

Spencer's eyes widened. Questions led to bad things. 

His sudden new demeanor startled them.

"It's fine, Reid," Morgan assured.

Spencer began shaking once again, closing his eyes as the terrible memory flooded his mind.

_The day was bright and sunny - the type of weather to put somebody in a good mood. Unless you were Spencer Reid and Emily Prentiss._

_They had been sedated and moved from one spot of the fence to the other so that their bound wrist and ankles touched each other. The breeze irritated their fresh wounds from the day prior and all they wanted was some bandages and clothes. Even if they weren't ever let out - clothes and bandages would make the experience all the better. However, they rarely ever got medical treatment, only when a certain man came to visit and clothes were practically nonexistent._

_They've seen the faces of hundreds of men. Most of them are seen and never seen again. They only consistently saw three people every single day. Some days, it's just the three of them. Other days, the fence is full of fifty men watching or waiting their turn to torture them with only one very specific rule: no killing._

_That day, it was just the three of them. One of the men - Emily and Spencer didn't know any of their names - approached them with his butcher knife, which wasn't unusual and didn't phase them anymore._

_"Look at me." He ordered in an amused tone._

_Spencer lifted his head to obey him. The man chuckled, remembering what he looked like when he was first abducted compared to now._

_"Would you care for something to eat or drink?"_

_Spencer nodded with no hesitation, "Yes, please."_

_"Kidding," With that, the butcher knife his torso, past his ribs, and into his kidney._

_It was as if fire erupted within him and spread to his chest and lower abdomen. Spencer's vision filled with black spots and Emily's screams rung within his ears before there was nothingness._

"Shh, Spence, it's okay!" JJ gently reassured.

He had been crying and groaning, breathing quickly. JJ wanted to do something, _anything_ , but she could only use her words. When he opened his eyes just a little bit, both her and Morgan felt relieved. 

"It's okay." She whispered, "It's okay."

"I'm sorry, kid." Morgan apologized benevolently.

He found himself getting raged once again over the people who took Reid and Prentiss. He walked out of the room, a hand on his forehead and the other balled into a fist.

"What happened in there?" Rossi asked.

"The kid can't even handle a question. He's so traumatized you can see it in his face." Tears welled up in his dark brown eyes, "We need to find the bastards who did this."

"We will, Morgan," Hotch reassured.

"I'm going to see if I can find anything we missed." He began trailing down the halls, walking with large strides to the conference room. He didn't mind if nobody was helping him, he was going to find where those sadists were even if he had to rip the entire country apart to find them.

As he took a seat, Penelope sat down next to him. She placed her hand gently on his for a moment.

"Let's get to work." She said, taking her hand off of his and grabbing her laptop.

Morgan reached over and grabbed her hand once again, intertwining their fingers together. He leaned into her, wrapping his other arm around her for a hug.

"We're going to get them justice." Garcia promise, rubbing small circles on his back.

The door opened once again and Rossi joined them at the table. They released each other from the hug and Garcia turned her attention to her computer screen.

"Aaron wants to be there for Emily when she wakes up, but the three of us can get to work." He said.

"Have they ran rape kits?" Morgan asked.

"I doubt it crossed their minds but we can take bite molds and see if we can take some DNA." Rossi replied, "I'll discuss it with one of their doctors."

Outside of Emily's room, Hotch sat in a chair, staring at his calloused palms. He hadn't seen Spencer yet, but JJ texted that he was sleeping so he didn't want to wake him up. Hotch knew he looked awful without a doubt and would hate to see him in such a state, but he needed to see him - both of them. He missed them every day for ninety days straight and now that they're back, he needed to see with his own eyes that they were alive. 

The door to Emily's room opened and her doctor came out. She shook hands with him, a small smile plastered on her face.

"She's still sleeping, but I believe she'll wake up soon if you would like to see her." The doctor said.

"Thank you."

The doctor began disappearing down the hall, leaving Hotch alone in the bright, white hallway. He stood outside her door, preparing himself mentally for the sight he was about to see. He took a deep breath before opening the door but immediately felt light-headed at Emily's state.

She was incredibly pale, eyebags clinging beneath her eyelashes. A large bruise hugged her swollen eye. The bones in her neck and collarbone stuck out beneath the skin, layered in black and blue bruises and scratch marks. Her boney arms rested above the blanket, covered in more and more minor injuries. Her left hand had been completely wrapped with layers of gauze and her right hand had a splint covering her index finger. Her messy raven hair was matted in blood and mud.

Hotch could barely make it to the bedside chair to sit down. He ran his fingers through his scalp for a moment, attempting to calm himself down. He felt a whole array of emotions. Disgusted, angry, worried, concerned - but she was alive, and that was something he was beyond grateful for. But, he couldn't ever imagine the type of pain she went through and figured she wouldn't feel the same way about being alive. 

Emily let out a raspy groan, her heart monitor beginning to beep quicker. Her eyes began darting back and forth beneath her eyelids and Hotch knew she was having a nightmare.

"Emily, wake up." He put his hand gently on her arm, making sure not to touch any bruises or cuts.

The sudden contact on her skin caused her eyes to shoot open and immediately find out what was touching her. When she found a man's hand, her pupils shrunk. They slowly traveled up the clothed arm and to the man's face - Aaron Hotchner. She recognized him and it caused her panic to die down. He pulled his arm off of hers which allowed her to relax. It wasn't that she didn't trust Hotch, but the only touch she had felt in a very long time that wasn't Spencer's was pain.

"Hey, Emily." He said quietly, softening his usual stone-cold expression.

She swallowed hard, attempting to clear her throat but it was no use, "I can't do a cognitive." Her voice was raspy and hoarse, not how it sounded before at all.

"We don't need to do a cognitive, just focus on recovering." He assured. A guilty feeling washed over him for not allowing Garcia to see her first.

Her eyes stared straight into the light above her and tears fell down the sides of her head. She wasn't sure why she was crying, but she found it was the only thing she could do. 

The material of the hospital gown felt so unnatural that it was irritating. She had been rid of all clothes for three months and always wished to have them back, but now that she did it was painful. Perhaps that was why she was crying, she decided. 

"Where's Spencer?" She asked.

"The room right across from here. He's resting right now but you can see him as soon as he wakes up."

Then, she began crying because Spencer wasn't with her. Was he lying about where he was so she could feel better? Was he dead? Those thoughts raced through her mind and sent her into a panic once again.

"Emily, I promise that Spencer is right across from you, he is fine!" Hotch said urgently.

"Liar!" Emily accused.

She couldn't help but think that. Every time they took Spencer away, he would come back even more bloody and broken than he already was. It was only on rare occasions they were separated, but when they were it was the worst experience out of the entire horrid journey.

"Stay here and I'll show you that he's right there, alright?"

Emily nodded, her body beginning to tremble uncontrollably. Hotch got up from his chair and opened her door. He left it open and walked across the hall to Spencer's room, quietly opening it as well to reveal JJ at his bedside and him sleeping peacefully. Emily let out a sharp, relieved exhale, closing her heavy eyes. The doors were closed and Aaron sat back down.

Hotch's phone buzzed in his pocket, causing Emily to flinch but her eyes remained closed.

 _'What was that about?'_ JJ's text read.

His thumbs tapped the screen quickly, _'Emily wanted to see Reid. She wouldn't let it go.'_

_'How is she?'_

Aaron pursed his lips together, taking a glance at Prentiss. Her eyebrows were stitched together with discomfort as she tried to fall asleep. 

_'Not great.'_

_'Spence fell asleep, but I can tell he's in a lot of pain when he's conscious. It's pretty hard not to cry.'_

_'Take breaks whenever you need to. We will understand.'_

JJ begun typing, but then stopped suddenly. Hotch arched a brow but shook it off. He was probably just overthinking.

Her phone hit the floor seemingly in slow motion as she stood up from her chair in a panic. Spencer's body started shaking uncontrollably, eyes rolled back and saliva seeping out from his lips. She touched him ever so gently to roll him on his side and pressed the button to call in the doctor.

"I need someone in here now!" JJ screamed, hoping someone would hear it.

It jolted Emily awake and she sat up in bed with wide eyes. 

"What's going on?" She asked, eyes darting around the room.

Hotch was worried, but he wouldn't let it show for the sake of Emily. 

"Lay back down, everything is fine." He reassured.

However, she wasn't believing it. She threw the blanket off of her boney body and swung her legs out until her bare and bruised feet hit the floor. Hotch acted quick, getting up from his chair and in front of her, putting his hands up to show her that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"Emily, please lay back down." He pleaded.

She attempted to stand up, but it caused sharp pains to shoot through her hips and lower abdomen. Still, she wasn't accepting a defeat that easily, "I need to see Spencer!"

"You can see him as soon as they're able to get you a room together," He replied, keeping calm so he wouldn't worry or scare her.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she flexed her jaw, talking as loud as she possibly could, "I need to see Spencer!"

"Lay back down for now and you'll get to see him soon, Emily." He was trying his very best to help her, but he wasn't even sure it was helping at all. 

She began sobbing hysterically, and unexpectedly, leaned into Hotch's touch. She wrapped her delicate arms around his body and buried her face into his shoulder, reminding her of the way they danced before she was taken. She took in his scent - it was a lot better than the smell she dealt with for the past three months. Things had changed drastically, she knew, but Hotch remained the same and that's all she could ask for. 

"I _need_ to see him, Hotch." She quietly choked out between sobs.

"I know." He was hugging her back but tried his best not to touch her welted back.

"And he needs to see me."

"He will. I promise."

Meanwhile, JJ bit her nails, watching the doctor making sure that Spencer was completely stable. He had seized continuously for a few minutes. JJ had never been more scared. She fought back the urge to cry at his condition. He was so helpless and tiny. Spence had always been skinny but he was beyond that. She couldn't bear to see her best friend in such a state.

"Seizures are common in trauma patients. If it happens again make sure to roll him on his side and assure that he's as comfortable as he can be." She explained.

JJ nodded, 'Thank you."

"Any other questions or concerns?"

She cleared her throat abruptly, blinking a few times to clear her tears, "We think it would be best if you put him and Emily Prentiss in a room together."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll be back in about half an hour to change his bandages." The doctor scribbled information on her clipboard before leaving the room.

JJ slowly eased herself back in the chair and stared at Spencer. She watched the rise and fall of his chest and listened to the consistent _'beep...beep'_. She found herself getting choked up once again, biting her bottom lip and telling herself to stop crying. However, she couldn't stop herself and ended up silently sobbing, biting her knuckle so that no sounds would escape. All the emotions she'd been holding for Spencer's sake came crashing down and she couldn't stop. He and Emily didn't deserve any of the torture they endured and she wished she could go back in time to her wedding and dance with them and tell them just to stay inside tomorrow. She couldn't though. All she could do was be there for them as they healed. 


	3. The Healing Process

_"Spence, wake up."_

As much as he didn't want to, Reid opened his eyes slightly. JJ's face covered the bright lights above him and she flashed him a sympathetic smile, tucking her blonde locks behind her ear.

"Doctor Reyes needs to change your bandages. She's only helping you, alright?" 

His eyes shifted from JJ to the brunette woman beside her, wearing a stethoscope around her neck. Then, they darted back to JJ, brows pulling together as if to say _'I don't want to do this.'_

"I'm only helping, Spencer." The doctor assured, "If we don't change your bandages, you're going to get more infections."

Spencer shook his head, shutting his eyes again.

JJ's lips pulled into a straight line. She felt hopeless.

"Will you get them changed if somebody stays in here with you?" She asked.

His eyes opened once again and he immediately replied, "Emily."

JJ rubbed her palms on her jeans, nodding her head.

"I'll see what I can do."

She left the room and walked across the hall to Emily's. Hotch was holding her right hand softly, careful not to touch her broken finger. Emily was attempting to sleep, but she couldn't. JJ grabbed both of their attention as she entered the room. Emily's condition made JJ feel nauseous as soon as she saw her. She appeared just as broken as Spencer, in similar and different ways.

"Hey, Emily." JJ approached her with a delicate smile.

Emily's mouth hung open, eyes filling with tears. She wasn't sad, instead, she was incredibly happy to see JJ.

"JJ?" She asked, her sentence nearly inaudible due to the raspiness in her voice. Still, it caused JJ's grin to grow.

"Yes," JJ could tell she was handling touch a lot better than Spencer and placed her hand on top of her good hand's knuckles.

They could both tell she wanted to smile, but she couldn't seem to do it. It was nice to see the brightness in her eyes shine through, even if it was just for a few moments. It was better than nothing.

There was a sudden knock on the door, causing her to flinch. Morgan appeared in the doorway, grinning at Emily. He was shocked at her appearance but didn't want to upset her by reacting to it.

"Hey, Prentiss." He gently greeted.

Emily froze out of pure joy - an emotion she wasn't sure how to handle anymore. She raised her hand and waved it.

"How is everything going?" Hotch asked.

"We're working on it. We're taking a break right now." Morgan replied before turning back to Emily, "It's nice to see you."

She nodded, feeling as if she couldn't speak anymore. Her voice was stuck in her throat. JJ knelt down beside her.

"Listen, Spencer doesn't want to get his bandages changed. He said that if you were in there with him, he'd let them do it." JJ stated hushedly.

Emily's eyes darted back and forth between her blue ones, processing the information. After a moment of silence, she gained her voice back.

"Can I see him?" She asked.

JJ nodded, "I'll get a wheelchair for you so you can come help him get his bandages changed."

Emily frantically shook her head, "No, no. It's okay, I can walk."

Morgan immediately noticed the fact that her stubbornness stuck with her. It caused him to smile slightly, thankful to still have at least some parts of her left.

Prentiss struggled to sit up, but she fought through the pain and sat on the edge of the bed. JJ grabbed her shoulders slightly, keeping in mind that she had welts around that area that she didn't want to irritate. With all the energy and strength she had, she managed to stand up with the other woman's assistance. Her hips felt as if they were on fire but she feared if she said anything about it, they wouldn't let her see Reid.

Hotch kept his hand sturdy on her arm while JJ held the other and Morgan dragged her I.V along with them as they steadily made it to the door. Emily winced in pain a few times, but she dismissed it quickly with a nod. On the other side of the door, Rossi opened it and held it so they could walk into the hallway. Garcia stood and watched with a wide smile on her face, her heart full of joy.

They proceeded to walk inside of Reid's room. His eyes were shut once again but upon hearing several footsteps, he opened them. His eyes met Emily's and it was as if everything around him stopped and he didn't care about anything else.

"Emily!" He exclaimed. It was the loudest they've heard him speak.

"Spencer!" During her adrenaline rush, she ripped herself out of JJ and Hotch's grip and rushed past Morgan, causing her I.V to rip out from her arm. 

Her legs were going as fast as they could to Spencer's aid- despite the sharp pains she experienced. She sat at the edge of his bed, and he scooted over so she could put her body on the mattress completely. Gritting his teeth, he sat up and desperately threw his arms around Emily's neck, pressing his face into her collarbone. Tears fell down her face as she wrapped her arms underneath his. The others could tell they knew the exact areas of each other's bodies that weren't hurting.

"I was so worried." She whispered into his ear, quiet enough so that nobody else - whether in the room or in the hallway - could hear.

"Me too." He replied, using the same tone.

"Are you ready to get your bandages changed now?" The doctor asked.

"I'll be right here," Emily assured, still keeping her voice low so only Spencer could hear it.

He nodded at the doctor. The others left the room, shutting the door behind them. Their reunion had been anticipated since they were separated and the team was glad to see how happy they were to see each other.

"I don't think Emily is going back into that room." Rossi quipped.

The doctor had helped them both sit up and placed an I.V in Emily's other arm, putting a bandage on the wound it left. She clung to Reid, thighs touching and allowing him to wrap his hand around the wrist of her good hand. Doctor Reyes rid him of his hospital gown and he felt relieved not to have the cloth touching his skin anymore. Much like Emily, he had been rid of clothes for so long they felt unnatural now.

Spencer kept his head turned, staring at Emily. He counted the number of colors he could find in her iris' over and over. She could tell that's what he was doing. She's watched him do it countless times before.

The doctor unraveled the bandages around his torso. He flinched as the sudden cold air hit his skin and wounds, but the woman acted quickly to wrap fresh gauze back around him. She proceeded to change the drainage bag of his catheter and check every individual wound to look for any dangerous signs. Thankfully, he seemed to be doing good at the time being.

His gown was placed back on him and Emily saw his brows twitch with discomfort.

"That's all for now, Dr. Reid. Someone will be back in an hour to change Agent Prentiss' bandages." The doctor grabbed her clipboard from the counter and left the room, flashing a quick smile at the team outside.

Garcia grabbed the door handle to go see them, but Hotch stopped her.

"Let's give them some alone time," Hotch stated.

"Right," Garcia agreed.

"Did you find anything new on the case?" JJ asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, we keep going over the same files over and over but nothing." Morgan replied, "I think the only information we're going to get is if we get it out of Prentiss and Reid."

"I don't think I can handle giving them a cognitive." JJ shook her head.

"Why don't you go home for a few hours and get some rest, JJ. You can pack some clothes and come back. That goes for you, too, Morgan and Garcia." Hotch ordered, "Rossi and I will stay behind until you come back."

"I'm not leaving, Hotch." Morgan protested.

"Neither am I. Not until we find out who did this." JJ added.

Hotch looked around the group and everybody was agreeing. He sighed, knowing it wasn't the best idea to keep working continuously with no sleep until they found the unsubs, but he couldn't deny the fact that he wanted the case solved as soon as possible.

"Alright." He gave in.

"Emily is doing pretty well with talking. I mean, you can tell she hesitates sometimes but she's talking." JJ stated, "She's also great with touch so far."

" _But_ we have to be careful," Rossi butted in.

JJ nodded, "Right. I think she'll be ready to talk by the end of the week."

"We can say for certain that the unsubs are local. If hands aren't reattached within six hours they can't perform the surgery anymore. Emily's surgery took four hours. They're within an hour from here." Morgan informed, looking between the group to watch their reactions.

"I've already searched for recently released criminals in the area, countless times, and I've been coming up dry. I checked for similar scenarios where victims are dropped off at the hospital, dry again. Long story short, I'm not coming up with anything, guys." Garcia said sadly.

"We're close, I just know it." Rossi shook his head.

Behind closed doors, Spencer and Emily lay in the hospital bed together, bruised and welted shoulders touching. He refused to let go of her wrist, fearing she might be taken from him again. He stared at their feet covered by the blanket before glancing up at her. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell she wasn't sleeping. She always had trouble sleeping. 

His gaze met the large bruise on her swollen eye and he remembered how it got there. How bloody her eye was for days. How she couldn't see straight. He closed his eyes, attempting to shake away the thoughts. 

_'We're safe now,'_ He reassured himself. 

"Emily." He started.

She cracked an eye open, staring at the ceiling.

"Do you think it's over?" 

Her expression noticeably changed to something terrified. 

"I don't know." She replied.

Spencer frowned hard, his heart racing a bit faster. 

"They're still out there." He found himself getting misty, tears blurring his vision. "How is the team supposed to find two-hundred and seventy-three men?"

Two-hundred and seventy-three men tortured and raped them over time - Spencer kept count simply because he couldn't _not_ keep count. He kept a list with just about everything in the front of his mind. The number of knives they had used on them - twenty-four. The number of times they were fed - thirty-one. How much they got treatment - twenty-one. How long they were gone - two thousand, one-hundred sixty-four hours and thirty minutes.

Two-thousand, one-hundred sixty-four hours and thirty minutes they went through endless torture. Spencer would never forget that number.

"Do you know how long the car ride to the hospital was?" Emily asked.

She desperately tried to forget the car ride. Seeing her wrist without her hand, the muscle beneath and the bone staring at her right in the face. It was an image she would never get out of her head for as long as she continued to live. Blood squirted everywhere - on her, on Spencer. The pain was numbing, causing her to sweat. She didn't think it would be much longer till she was dead.

"Approximately forty-two minutes," Spencer replied shakily as tears began to fall down the sides of his head.

"We can tell the team that. They'll find them." She doubted herself. She didn't believe they got out that easily, but for Spencer's sake, she gave him hope.

It worked ever so slightly. His heart came back down to a steady pace and he rested his cheek against her shoulder. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch and focusing on the way her hair felt on his cheek rather than the pain that shot throughout the length of his entire body. Quickly, he fell asleep. Emily listened to his slow and steady breaths and soon enough, she found herself falling asleep for the first time in a while.

When Rossi opened the door to check on them, he found them both sleeping peacefully. Their faces weren't ridden of pain, their limbs weren't shaking. They looked relaxed, despite the evidence of trauma presented all over their bodies. He smiled lightly, sitting at their bedside and enjoying a moment of peace where they weren't visibly suffering. 

The day before they went missing crossed his mind. It was such a happy night, full of love and laughter. Spencer and Emily danced with each other, smiling without a care in the world. He knew neither of them would fit in their clothes from that night at this point, and neither would he see them smile like that until time healed. They didn't deserve any of it. They also didn't deserve their captors being able to walk freely. It stressed him out and formed a headache. All he wished was to find the people who so mercilessly beaten them and to serve them justice. 

Hours past and the time on the clock read nine p.m. They had been in the hospital for nearly a day now. The doctor came in every few hours to change their bandages and waste bags, but it didn't manage to wake them up. Rossi decided that it was because they felt at least a slight sense of relief so their bodies were letting them sleep now. Eventually, Rossi switched with Morgan to take a quick nap in the conference room. 

It was midnight when Emily finally woke up to find Morgan sitting in the room with them, scrolling on his phone. He was looking through his camera roll, remembering the good times that happened before they went missing. He did that often. He desperately wanted to be in the conference room with everybody else, but going through the same information over and over was frustrating him so Hotch sent him to visit Prentiss and Reid.

Emily stared down at Reid and he was still out. Then, her eyes wandered back up to Morgan's and found that he was staring at her with a small grin.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." He said in a teasing tone just like old times.

It gave Emily a sense of comfort, the way he treated them the same instead of babying them. She didn't want sympathy, all she wanted was to get her old life back.

"What time is it?" She asked, trying her best not to move so she wouldn't wake Spencer up.

Her voice was beginning to come back to her, though it was still slightly raspy and broken.

"Midnight. You got a nice sleep, didn't you?" He smiled.

She nodded, lips turning up slightly into a small smile that caused Morgan's heart to do backflips. He didn't expect it out of her so soon, but she smiled and it made him the happiest he had been for the past three months. 

"There's that smile of yours," His grin grew wider, causing Emily to shake her head the way she did before her abduction.

Then, she frowned. Because things couldn't just go back to normal - as easy as she wanted to make it, it was a difficult situation to overcome. She hadn't smiled like that in a very long time. It had all been cries and screams of pain. She couldn't simply resume her life. Not after being tortured and raped and not after being forced to watch Spencer endure the same pain. 

Morgan frowned as well, leaning forward in his seat to place a finger against her pale, scarred forearm.

"We're here now." He said gently, brushing his finger back and forth along the small patch of skin that wasn't covered in a bruise or scratch.

Tears filled her dark eyes and she nodded, choking out, "I know."

"And as long as I'm alive, you will never go through that _ever_ again. Understand?" He watched as a tear dripped off her jaw.

She took a slow, shaky inhale before mumbling, "Forty-two minutes."

Morgan cocked his head slightly in confusion - an expression she picked up on quickly.

"That's how long the car drive from there to the hospital was." She stated frantically, trying to get her sentence out all in one massive, trembled breath.

Morgan stood from his chair, pulling his cell from his pocket, "Do you know any names?"

Emily shook her head, biting her bottom lip hard so she wouldn't wake up Spencer with her sobs. Morgan stepped outside the door, leaning against the wall and placing a hand against his forehead. He called Hotch, peaking into the small door window to make sure they were okay.

"What's wrong?" Hotch answered. It was an unusual greeting from him but he immediately assumed something had happened.

"Emily told me that the car drive from their location to the hospital took forty-two minutes."

"I'll get Garcia to do a search." The line went dead after that.

Hotch put his cell phone back in his pocket and sat back down at the conference table.

"Everything alright?" Rossi asked.

"Emily told Morgan that the car drive was forty-two minutes from their location to the hospital. We should look within a sixty-mile radius until we get anything else." Hotch answered.

JJ let out a relieved sigh, "She's talking, that's good."

Garcia pulled up a map of Virginia and followed Hotch's orders until she was left with a circle of places around the hospital.

"Start with rundown or abandoned factories. They were very dirty when they got here so they must be in a dirty environment. A place owned by someone wouldn't be that filthy." JJ suggested.

Garcia nodded, staring at her computer screen with full focus, "Thirty-four in the area."

"Any of them have owners who went to prison or the former owners know someone who went to prison? They have to be familiar or comfortable with the place to work in it for three months." JJ added.

"Only if they stayed in the same place." Hotch opposed. "We'll have to see if that's the case or not."

"Run the search anyway, there could be a chance they stayed in the same place the entire time," Rossi ordered.

Garcia nodded, "Only two buildings have former owners whose children went to prison." She pulled up their photos across the screen, "Donovan Baker, seventy-seven, retired last year and abandoned his factory. His kid, Riley Baker," She pulled up his prison mug-shot, "Forty-five, no job history besides a small period of time where he served as a cashier at a fast-food joint."

Hotch stood up to grab a pot of coffee they had started hours ago, "What did he go to prison for?" 

"Working on it..." The room fell silent besides the sound of Hotch pouring his drink into a cup. Then, Garcia paused, clearing her throat, "Serial rape, sir."

"And what about the other one?" Rossi asked.

"The owner's name was Mari Owens, she died last year due to kidney failure and didn't leave her business to anybody so they shut it down." Garcia examined a photo of her in a newspaper before pulling up her son's mugshot, "She has a son, Marcus Owens, thirty-nine. He works as a construction worker... Oh, wait, no he doesn't." She stared wide-eyed at her screen, "He quit his job three months ago, the day before they were abducted."

"Send the mugshots to Morgan and he can ask Emily if it's them," Hotch ordered.

Garcia hummed, "One-step ahead of you, sir." 

Morgan's phone dinged, startling Emily. Spencer remained sleeping - which was surprising to Morgan since he was expecting a nightmare by now. He opened his cell to reveal two mugshots. Prentiss stared at him with worry as he quickly decided whether or not it was safe to show her yet.

"The team has some suspects. Do you think you're up for seeing if you identify the people in the mugshots?" Morgan asked cautiously.

Emily let out a hesitated nod - Derek knew it wasn't a full yes.

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to." 

She nodded once again, this time with more confidence. Morgan slowly flipped his screen around to show her the two men. The reveal caused her to sink back, eyes widening and pupils shrunk. 

Her words came out quiet and shaken, "Both of them were always there with another man."

Morgan furrowed his brow, "Another?"

"There was two-hundred and seventy-three." She replied dryly.

He felt the blood drain from his body and he suddenly had no idea what to say. He knew they were looking for multiple unsubs, but two-hundred and seventy-three was a number he hadn't even considered. It made him feel like he was going to throw up all the nasty hospital food contents in his stomach. He knew how hard it was to deal with one horrible person in life continuously, but nearly three hundred? With shaky hands, he called Hotch back.

"Did she recognize them?" He answered.

"Yes but..." He paused for a second, staring at Emily's wide, terrified eyes.

"What?"

Hotch could hear the horror in his voice, "There are two-hundred and seventy-three." 


	4. Just The Beginning

Hotch slowly closed his cell, shutting his eyes as dizziness fell over him. He stumbled back a bit and everybody rushed out of their chairs to help him. _Two-hundred and seventy-three._

"Aaron!" Rossi called out, grabbing his shoulders to keep him steady, "What's wrong?"

The three of them helped Hotch into his seat, crowding around him. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. Penelope had rushed to grab him a styrofoam cup of water and returned quickly. He took a few sips before speaking.

"Emily told Morgan that there are two-hundred and seventy-three unsubs."

Garcia and JJ put a hand over their mouths in unison, eyes shining with tears. Even Rossi appeared distraught, unable to hide his emotions this time.

"Two-hundred and seventy-three?" Garcia whispered.

"How is that-" JJ began tripping over her words, "Why would-..." She sharply sighed, "I can't believe Spence and Emily had to go through that."

"We're going to get every last one of them," Rossi stated.

"She recognizes the two men in the photos, though. Garcia, I need you to send the factory and home addresses to our phones." Hotch ordered. "Rossi and I will take Owens and Morgan and JJ will take Baker. If we get them, it'll get us one step closer to the other two-hundred and seventy-one."

Garcia rushed down the halls, heels clicking with each step that echoed throughout the quiet halls. She opened the door to Reid's room and found Morgan sitting by Emily, a finger against her skin. Reid had woken up, but he kept his eyes closed due to a stress headache.

"Hotch needs you." She announced quietly.

Morgan nodded, turning to Emily, "I'll be back."

Garcia and him traded places - her with Emily and Reid and him jogging through the hallway and running into JJ. She gave him his ear-piece as she put hers in.

"We're going to get Baker." She stated.

"Good," Morgan mumbled.

As the team made it to their SUVs, they quickly put their vests and gear on and hurried out of the hospital parking lot.

"Are they getting them?" Emily asked quietly.

Penelope nodded, "Yes, sugar."

She let out a small, relieved sigh. She wished they were all gone, but she knew putting those two away was just the start. She convinced herself she would never have to see them again - and thankfully so. She saw the faces of Owens and Baker - along with another unnamed man - nearly twenty-four seven. They laughed while she cried. The thought of their faces sent a chill down her spine and formed tears.

"Emily," Spencer suddenly whined, shutting his eyes tightly and pressing his lips together.

"What?" She asked, leaning closer to him. It was an unconscious habit.

"It hurts." He breathed out, crinkling his bruised nose.

"Oh, my sweet boy genius." Penelope got up from her chair and proceeded to the other side of the bed to Spencer.

Emily couldn't agree more. She didn't need to ask what was hurting, because she knew the answer - everything. It wasn't an exaggeration, her entire body was seemingly on fire and she knew Spencer felt the same.

"I know," She winced, trying to keep herself from crying. The pain only reminded her how it got there, "I know."

Spencer was crying at that point, "I want it to stop."

Penelope felt that she couldn't do anything and it made her feel sad. She didn't want to accidentally say the wrong thing and she knew he wasn't great with anybody other than Emily touching him. So, she stood beside him and watched him sob, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know," Emily began crying as well, "Try and go back to sleep." She said hushedly.

Spencer was about to reply, but Emily's doctor - Doctor Grace, came inside.

"I need to change your bandages, Agent Prentiss." She stated, placing a clipboard on the counter and beginning to wash her hands.

"Do you want me to leave, Emily?" Penelope asked.

Emily nodded, "Please?"

She trusted Garcia, but she didn't want her to see her like that. Enough people had seen her exposed - and still, she felt that way and so did Reid. She wanted to grab onto every bit of privacy she could still get. 

"Okay, lovebug, I'll be right outside." She assured, stepping out into the hallway.

The doctor helped both Spencer and Emily sit up towards the edge of the bed. Reid continued to sulk but made sure to be there for Emily. She grabbed his wrist, only letting go when her hospital gown was taken off. They stared at each other's bruised and pale faces. Spencer could tell she was nervous and he forced himself to stop crying to appear strong for her. 

"You're fine," He whispered into her ear.

She nodded, swallowing back the lump in her throat. She had never been awake to experience her bandages being changed. The doctor started with her torso, examining her stitches, bruises, and welts. They were still red and swollen, but they appeared to be making a bit of progress as her welts were less irritated.

"That's great," Grace mumbled to herself. "We can start applying an ointment to your welts not that they're not as irritated. I'll be right back, alright?"

Emily nodded, though she didn't like the idea of the doctor touching her skin. Grace left the room, leaving them alone. Prentiss ripped her eyes away from Reid's and took a moment to stare at her body.

"No, no, Emily, don't." Spencer urged, but she couldn't stop.

Every bruise, every stitch, every red mark, and scar, she took in. Her hip bones stuck out but they were incredibly swollen at the same time. It reminded her of the times she was stabbed or brutally raped, causing her to screw her eyes shut and throw her head back till she faced the ceiling. She let out groans of pain and choked up sobs. Reid gently brushed his fingers up and down her bare aching back, hoping to calm her down.

"I'm so sorry, Em." He whispered, snaking his arms around her neck.

She appreciated the gesture and placed her hand against his knuckle.

The doctor returned with some ointment and fresh gauze, startled by Emily's emotions.

"I'm sorry, honey." She said sympathetically, "I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes."

Grace gently rubbed ointment across the entirety of her welts before changing her gauze, taping a new catheter bag to her thigh, and placing her gown back on. 

"You're doing great. That's all for now" She assured before leaving the room, 

Penelope was quick to return into the room, rushing to Emily's side as she continued to panic. Spencer had lied back down on the mattress as his body began to ache from the position. He helped Emily down, pressing his cheek against hers. His touch was reassuring because it reminded her that he was, in fact, alive. She had seen him go through Hell and back and every time he bled, she feared he would die. Throughout the entire experience, despite the brutality of the events, she would have much rather went through every bit of it instead of watching Spencer go through something. 

Meanwhile, Hotch and Rossi arrived at Owen's factory, local PD right behind them. Once the unit chief made sure everybody was in position, he kicked the door down as hard as he could, rushing inside with his gun pointed ahead. Behind him, Rossi found a light switch and flipped it on. Rows of lights gradually flickered until they brightly lit the room. 

The room they stood in had a refrigerator and a table with poker cards scattered across it. Crushed soda cans cluttered the room. It appeared like a man-cave to them.

Hotch and Rossi stuck together while the police separated off as they went down the hall in separate ways. Eventually, the two men found a door. Rossi sneakily looked out of the window on the door, finding that it was a fenced area outside. Rossi signaled that he was opening the door and Hotch nodded. With a swift swing, they rushed outside into the fence. 

A man stood in the middle of the area, crouched down at the grass.

"FBI!" Rossi shouted.

The man seemingly froze, stopping what he was doing. Rossi began rushing over to him.

"Hands where I can see them!" And surprisingly, the man cooperated.

Dave forced his hands behind his back and placed the handcuffs on. Looking down at the grass, he realized the blades were bloodstained and the man was simply revisiting an area he seemingly liked. Staring back up at the criminal, he confirmed that it was Owens.

"Let's go, you sick bastard." Rossi glared, harshly pulling him across the field as he began listing his rights.

Hotch stood in front of one side of the fence, taking in the amount of dried blood, throw up, and other liquids he wished he never saw. An empty, dirty water bottle was sunken into the dirt, and attached to the fence wires were eight, bloody ropes. He knew it was where Spencer and Emily were held. It made him sick.

He hadn't realized he was shaking until he lifted a hand to press onto his ear-piece, "We've got Owens. I found the spot where they held Prentiss and Reid. I'll call a team down to take photos and DNA."

"Copy. JJ and I are almost at Baker's factory." Morgan said on the other line.

"Alright. Rossi is taking Owens in but I can take PD and swing by Bakers house in case he isn't at the factory. We can't waste time, we need these guys in interrogation now before any unsub gets away." Hotch replied.

"Sounds good, Hotch. We're at the factory, I'll let you know what we find." Morgan said.

"Alright, good luck." Hotch turned around to find two police officers standing in the doorframe, seemingly too afraid to come any closer. "Call a team down here as soon as possible," He ordered before turning to one, "Come with me."

Rossi pushed Owens into the car and began driving down the road. The BAU office was nearly an hour away and he didn't think he could handle being alone in the SUV with that sick man. It was silent for the first five minutes of the drive and Dave thought he was going to get silence the entire ride. However, the man spoke up.

"Do you wanna know what I was looking at?"

Rossi glanced into his rearview mirror, furrowing a brow, "No."

"The boy was my favorite." He hummed, limbs jittering in excitement.

A horrible feeling came down on him and the only thing he thought to reply with was, "Anything you say will be used against you in the court of law."

"So every time it was just me, nobody else, and when he became weak enough to the point where he could easily be held down, I would take him to that very spot and the girl would be forced to watch because I knew she liked it, too. Sometimes, I would switch off because the girl practically begged for me," His voice shook, but he wasn't scared, he was happy.

"Stop talking," Rossi demanded, gripping the steering wheel tighter as anger coursed through his veins.

"I like to hear him scream." 

Rossi pulled the car over and turned around to face him. He slammed his hand against the top of the passenger car seat and glared so intensely, Owens sank into his seat.

"That's enough." He snapped through his gritted teeth.

However, Owens leaned forward, "I want to make him scream again."

Rossi stared at him for a few moments, wanting nothing more than to punch his teeth in and tear him limb from limb - but he was needed to find the other unsubs. So, he forced himself to sit back down and continue the awful drive of nothing but Owens describing his sick fantasies about Emily and Spencer.

Hotch was halfway to Baker's house when JJ's voice came through.

"It seems like Spence and Emily were here at one point, but they didn't stay for long. There's a little bit of evidence in the building but otherwise, that's it. We did find their ripped off clothes in the corner." She cleared her throat, "Morgan had to go outside. Wouldn't want to be these guys when he gets his hands on them."

"They must've been held there first and then taken over to Owens' factory. The question is why they did that." Hotch responded.

"I'll see you in a little bit." 

"Wait, JJ," Hotch said, "How are you holding up?"

He heard her hesitate, trying to think of a word to use, "Better. It's hard seeing them like that, but it's good that we have them back."

"Right," He agreed.

"Morgan and I are going to head to the office to meet Rossi. If Owens doesn't start talking, I'll probably go back to the hospital so Garcia can get some sleep."

"Just make sure everybody is taking care of themselves." 

"Will do. Talk to you later and good luck."

Hotch took a sharp right turn, increasing his speed as he was only a mile away from Baker's. He wanted nothing more than to put him behind bars and make sure he suffered for the rest of his life. 

"I'm nearly at Bakers house." He told Rossi.

"Alright. I still have another twenty minutes to go with Owens," Hotch could hear the man in the background, "It's been a rough ride so far."

"I bet," Hotch replied.

"Go get Baker, Aaron."

"I am."

With that, Hotch pulled over in front of his house and got out. An officer trailed behind him as he made his way down the driveway and to the front door. He noticed the bright lights inside and decided that Baker was home with his family. So, instead of kicking down the door, he knocked, gesturing to the officer to go around back in case he tried to escape.

A kind-hearted woman answered the door with red lips turned up into a smile, "How may I help you this early in the morning?"

Hotch flashed his badge, "Is your husband home?"

"Yes, he is. He's just upstairs and-"

He rushed past her and up the stairs, gun pointed ahead as he checked every room. Eventually, he opened the bathroom to find the man brushing his teeth.

"FBI, don't move!" He shouted.

Baker seemed startled, eyes widening.

"Put your hands where I can see them!" 

The man let his toothbrush fall out of his mouth and to the floor. He turned to Hotch with a smile.

"I'm not going back to jail." He declared.

He proceeded to rush to the window, attempting to climb out. Hotch grabbed his leg and dragged him onto the floor, digging his knees into his spine and harshly placing his hands behind his back. He assured that the handcuffs were put on too tight just so he could get a tiny taste of his own medicine. 

"You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say will be used against you in the court of law." He began reading his rights, dragging him down the stairs and out of the door.

"What did he do?" The wife exclaimed, but Hotch was too concerned about getting the bastard to the BAU so they could begin the interrogation.

He threw Baker in the backseat and climbed into the car. The officer joined him and Hotch began down the road, staring the forty-five-minute drive to the office.

"We've got him," Hotch stated to the other members of his team.

"Good. I'm just pulling into the office now." Rossi replied.

The Italian parked his SUV at the front of the BAU. He pulled Owens out of the backseat, pushing him along into the front doors. He felt sick having to hear everything the man had to say about Spencer and Emily. He determined that Owens was a narcissist and a proud one, too. Owens knew what he did and he had no shame in it - wanting the entire world to know what he did. Rossi noticed how every time he spoke about their abduction, he only mentioned himself and none of the other men. He wanted credit for the entire thing.

The office was empty. Rossi placed him into an interrogation room, turning the light on before leaving him alone, shutting and locking the door tightly. He watched Owens body language through the mirror until he couldn't stand to see him anymore.

JJ and Morgan arrived soon after, jogging inside to meet Rossi outside one of their interrogation rooms.

"Has he said anything?" JJ asked.

"In the car, yes. I haven't messed with him in interrogation yet." Rossi replied, "In the car, he only talked about himself and none of the other people he was doing this with. He wants all the credit."

"Narcissistic bastard," Morgan mumbled.

"I doubt he'll have a problem talking to us, though. He's proud." Rossi continued.

"Should we wait until Hotch gets here?" JJ asked.

Rossi reached for his earpiece to phone in the unit chief, "Should we wait for your go or begin interrogating Owens?"

"Start interrogating. We can't lose any time." Hotch replied on the other line.

"Send in JJ first." Rossi suggested, "When he talked about Reid, he was more proud of what he did. When he talked about Emily, it was more like the only reason he did it was because he hated her. I think he's misogynist." 

JJ nodded, taking off her vest and earpiece and turning on the recording app on her phone for evidence. She took a deep breath before walking inside the interrogation room. She didn't directly look at the man at first, but she made sure to appear angry and in charge. Eventually, she sat down, looking up at the man.

"My name is Agent Jareau." She began, "Do you know why you're here?" 

"Kidnapping." He replied.

"You kidnapped two of my best friends." She corrected.

A grin grew on his face, "I know. FBI agents. Who knew agents would wither away so quickly?"

"When you talk about your actions, you only mention yourself. I hope you're aware that we know there's more of you." 

Owens shook his head, "Nope. I did that all by myself."

"Really? It's pretty difficult to manage two victims at once." She leaned forward, folding her hands against the table, "Tell me. Do you know Riley Baker?

"Why?" He snapped.

JJ gritted her teeth before repeating, "Do you know Riley Baker?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"And Riley had nothing to do with this?"

"He did. He likes the girl." 

"We know there's more of you. You can't lie your way out of this, Marcus." She pulled out a pen and paper and slid it towards him. "Give us the name of every single person who ever even looked at your victims and I'll be sure to tell the court that you cooperated."

"I'll make a deal with you, blondie." He said.

" _Agent Jareau_." She corrected through her teeth.

"Agent Jareau," He rolled his eyes. "I get to see the boy."

"No." She replied almost instantly.

"If you give me the boy for just a few minutes, I'll give you the names."

JJ got up from her chair and proceeded to the door.

"Don't worry, the deal is always on the table!" He shouted as she exited the interrogation room.

She paused her recording and leaned against the door.

"He wants to see Spence." She muttered with a sigh.

"We're not about to do that." Morgan shook his head.

Rossi glanced at Owens through the mirror, "Hopefully, Baker doesn't throw the same deal on the table." 

They didn't bother with interrogation until Hotch arrived with Baker. They watched as he placed him into the next interrogation room and without wasting a second, he began his session. He closed the door and started a recording.

"I'm Agent Hotchner and I'm going to get straight to the point with you. You know what you did. You know why you're here. We know what you did, too. If you lie I'll be sure to tell the court about your misbehaviors. Understood?"

"I understand, Agent Hotchner." He said in an amusing tone that made Hotch want to break his nose.

"It's come to our knowledge that there are more of you." He gave the criminal a pen and paper, just as JJ did. "Give us a list with no issues and I'll spread the good word."

Baker gripped the pen in his hands loosely, "On one condition." 

"There are no deals here," Hotch stated sternly.

"I want to see the girl. Just for a couple of minutes. She doesn't even have to talk to me, I just want to see her beautiful body one last time." 

Hotch glared, clenching his fists. Without another word, he left the interrogation room and slammed the door.

"He made the same deal as Owens," JJ said angrily.

"What do we do?" Morgan asked, "We can't just give them what they want. Emily's doing great so far but if we just hand her to him she's going to feel all types of emotions all over again, and we can't put the kid's healing process in jeopardy. You know how he deals with things." 

He knew how hard it was to face someone that completely ruined the rest of your life. Even after years and years of recovery, facing his monster was still just as painful and he would never want Emily and Spencer to go through the same thing.

"I know. We'll have to discuss this." Hotch said. "Let's go back to the hospital."


	5. Strong For Eachother

The others gathered in the conference room to discuss interrogation plans while Hotch went to retrieve Garcia to tell her the news. Opening the door, he found Emily and Spencer sleeping side by side once again. Penelope was visibly tired, but she forced herself to stay awake just in case one of them would have a nightmare.

"Did you get them?" She whispered, standing from her chair with anticipation.

"Yes. They're in interrogation now, but we have a problem." Hotch replied, keeping his voice low.

Garcia's brows pulled together and she glanced back at Emily and Reid. Prentiss opened her eyes slightly upon hearing the word 'problem'. She looked between them before speaking up.

"Problem?" She asked, the raspiness in her voice coming back.

"It's nothing, don't worry. Garcia and I are going to talk in the hall for a second, alright?" Hotch gently informed. 

"No, no, what problem?" She sat herself up, her sudden movement and tone of voice causing Spencer to wake up with a jolt.

Hotch pressed his lips together tightly, making a quick decision. Reid turned to Emily, eyes wide and apprehensive. 

"Problem?" He whispered.

Hotch took a seat beside Spencer, folding his hands together so he wouldn't accidentally touch him unconsciously.

"We have two of the men in interrogation right now." He began, taking a long pause to take in their reactions.

Spencer remained apprehensive and Emily grew to reveal the same expression.

"Did they get away?" She nervously asked.

"No." Hotch quickly assured. "We asked for a list of the other people who hurt you, but they won't do it unless..." He paused once again.

"Unless what?" Emily asked.

"Unless one gets to see one of you." He finished.

Emily's eyes widened and immediately Reid began shaking his head.

"I can't do that, no, I can't." Emily frantically stated.

"It's okay, we're not forcing you to. We're not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do." He promised.

Reid stared at Emily as he spoke, eyes glossy with tears, "I never want to see them again."

After a few minutes, Emily had seemingly calmed down, trying to force herself to think like the profiler she was before she became a victim. Eventually, she took a deep, shaky breath.

"I-I can't do it right now, but when I'm ready, and the deal is still on the table," She started, "I'll do it."

"You don't have to, Emily," Hotch assured.

She shook her head, "If it means bringing the rest of the men in, I'll do it." 

Reid grabbed her wrist suddenly, "What if they hurt you?" He asked quietly.

"We know how scenarios like this works." She replied, wrapping her arms delicately around his chest, "We can't let any of them get away."

She found herself getting choked up just thinking about the fact that she was choosing to go through with the deal. She rested her face against his chest, tears wetting his hospital gown. Reid developed a heavy heart and rubbed the back of her neck gently, trying to calm her down. 

Hotch turned to Garcia, who's eyes were watering as she watched the event go down. Then, he looked back to Emily who stared at Reid's feet beneath the blanket.

"He only requested a few minutes and said he wouldn't talk to you."

"I can't do it right now," She replied through her sobs.

"Whenever you're ready. I'm not letting you go until you're discharged from the hospital." Hotch said, placing a gentle finger against the clear patch of skin on her arm.

Reid's doctor opened the door and walked inside, taking a step back at first, "Good morning Agents. I need to change Dr. Reid's bandages."

Spencer shook his head, "I don't want to right now."

The conversation about the men had made him remember all the things that had been done and he felt dirty and exposed. 

"You don't want to get an infection and I need to change your catheter bag." She noticed that he had looked away and continued, "I can't force you to do anything, but it's strongly encouraged that you let me help you."

"You'll be able to get out of here sooner, Baby Genius," Garcia said, nearly tucking a lock of hair behind his ear but stopped herself before her hand reached his face.

Reid turned to Emily. He knew how well she was doing with touch and talking, and it encouraged him to do the same. Her bravery inspired him during their abduction and continued to motivate him. Through it all, he turned to her for just a sliver of encouragement, and each time he received it. After a moment's contemplation and many statistics about infections racing through his eidetic memory, he allowed the doctor to move in.

Hotch and Garcia left the room, standing in the hallway.

"Sir, how are we supposed to let Emily go in there?" Garcia asked, "Her hand was _literally_ cut off by those people. Not to mention the fact that we both know what happens when she and Reid are separated."

Hotch sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "We'll have to figure it out. I don't want her going in there if she doesn't want to. We can figure out ways to catch the others."

"How?"

He stared down at the floor shamefully because he simply didn't know the answer. Two hundred and seventy-one more unsubs to catch was a huge number he had rarely successfully dealt with. If majority got caught and locked away, there are still a few that end up getting away due to time factors and being on the move. He didn't want any of them escaping - he wanted every last one, no matter their impact, suffering - but the only way he could achieve that in time was if they went through with the deals unless another idea was sparked.

"I'm not sure," He finally replied.

Garcia's heart sank and tears came back to her.

"I never imagined having to do this." She whispered, beginning to get carried away with her emotions, "Never in my life did I think I would be standing here, figuring out ways to find two-hundred and seventy-one people who tortured and - and," She sighed, "I just never expected this happening. Not to Emily and Reid."

"Me neither. As crazy as it sounds, it's real. No matter what happens, we're going to be there for them." 

"Right," Penelope agreed.

"I've been thinking. I'm not sure how well they're going to do going back to their own apartments. We need to find a place for them to stay where they can stay together and with one of us at all times." 

Their apartments still were owned by them. Even after they were deemed dead, the BAU couldn't accept it. They had packed up all their belongings neatly in case they came back and continued to pay their bills for them. Garcia even took one of Reid's sweater vests because running her fingers across the material reminded her of hugging him. She carried around one of his books for a while as well, reading it to herself in her office when she needed some comfort. Once she reached the bookmark Reid had placed in it, she stopped. 

"We should ask Rossi. He has plenty of room in his mansion, remember JJ's wedding? Tons of space," Garcia let out a few light giggles.

Hotch smiled because Penelope hadn't laughed in months. He wished he were back at that day - and perhaps if he could go back, he would spend a lot more time with Emily and Spencer.

"You're suggesting Rossi's to make sure you have a room to stay in, too, right?" Hotch quipped, causing Garcia to continue her small giggle fit.

"Of course, and everybody else - though we might need to have roommates, but everybody needs to stick together." She concluded.

Hotch nodded, "We'll talk to the team about it."

"Perfect," With that, she flashed him a smile that he had missed.

"Listen, I want you to go back with everybody and do a quick search of Baker and Owens' cellmates. After you get names, please, get some rest. I want everybody to go home, pack some clothes, and come back here no earlier than seven a.m." He noticed her opening her mouth to argue, but he cut her off, "That's an order, Garcia."

Her shoulders slumped, "But what about you?"

"I'll grab a quick nap, don't worry." He replied.

"Alright, sir. If I don't see you anymore before I leave, then I shall see you in a few hours." She spun on her heel and trailed down the halls.

Hotch figured he had a few minutes before Reid was done getting his dressings changed, so he pulled out his cell phone and texted Beth. He missed Jack and his girlfriend, but he didn't want to leave Reid and Emily, fearing they may be taken again. If they were abducted under his care, he would crumble into bits and pieces the way he wanted to when their case went cold.

The doctor walked out and Hotch immediately trailed in to find Reid sitting at the edge of the bed while Emily lied beside him and rubbed her hand up and down his back. Tears trailed down his cheeks and he placed his hands on his aching abdomen. Hotch knelt in front of him, softening his expression. They held eye contact until Reid let out a shaky breath.

"I don't want to do this," He whispered.

"I promise, you will never have to go through something like that again," Hotch assured.

Emily sat up and wrapped her arms around him from behind, placing both hands on top of his. He allowed it, even though the gauze on her left one irritated his skin.

"You have a one in three-hundred thousand chance of getting-" His breath hitched, "Kidnapped. And it's happened twice. How do I know it won't happen again?"

Hotch could tell Emily was crying now as well.

"I won't let it happen. Nobody is ever going to lay a hand on you." Hotch reassured, extending an arm to Emily to make sure she knew he was there for her as well.

"I can't deal with that again." He screwed his eyes shut, remembering how the ropes felt on his wrists and ankles and how much his body ached day after day. It caused him to begin sobbing uncontrollably, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"I'm sorry." Was the only thing Hotch could think of. 

"We're doing this together, Spencer," Emily whispered.

Eventually, he was able to lay himself back down, leaning into Emily to make himself feel safe. Hotch sat at their bedside, watching as they fell asleep once again. He was happy they were able to sleep. They needed rest and lots of it. Eventually, he drifted off as well.

_Spencer opened his eyes to find himself restrained tightly to a fence. His eyes widened, shaking his head and screaming, "No, no, not again!"_

_Blood dripped down his legs and soaked into the ropes around his ankles. Looking down, his stomach suddenly shrunk to half its size and he could point out every broken rib that he had. He turned his head, hoping to find Emily, but she wasn't there. His eyes darted around, trying to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. He hung his head and cried. The hunger, dehydration, and physical and mental pain was all that he could focus on because Emily wasn't there._

_"Spence..." A raspy voice spoke softly._

_He looked up to see Emily. Her eyes were missing, her arms were missing, and she was nothing but blood and bone. She had been skinned and carved into, words that said 'We're coming back.'_

_He stared at her in horror, trying to get out of the restraints to help her but the only thing he could manage to do was shout her name. She collapsed onto the ground, dead._

"No!" He screamed, eyes opening wide. He felt as if he couldn't breathe, gasping for air.

Hotch woke up, immediately leaning forward to Spencer's aid. Emily remained sleeping, muttering a few words as she dreamt.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Hotch asked urgently.

Spencer shook his head rapidly, shutting his eyes tightly and biting his lip so hard, blood began seeping out and trailing down his chin. It dripped onto his boney collarbone and began its journey down the rest of his body. He was crying too hard to make any audible words, so he tried to focus on his breathing. However, he couldn't help but think he was dying. His hand roughly grabbed onto the sleeve of Hotch's shirt and he opened his eyes, staring at him in terror.

"Spencer, what's wrong? Talk to me, please!" Hotch urged as Reid's fingernails dug into his skin.

"I had a nightmare," He said between sobs, unable to make eye contact anymore so he stared at the floor. 

"What was it about?" He asked, deciding it would make him feel better if he spoke about it.

He didn't know how to put any of it into words, so he said, "Emily died." 

"It's okay, Emily's with us. It was just a bad dream." 

Spencer turned to Emily, analyzing her face. He examined her shut eyes, the shoulders that connected to her arms, and then her monitor that revealed her steady heartbeat. He released his grip on Hotch's sleeve, but kept his calloused hand gently on his forearm. However, as more and more details of the nightmare came to him, his heart rate increased and he found himself in a panic once again.

"Reid, do you mind telling me about the nightmare? It'll make you feel better." Hotch said gently.

His words were jumbled and quick, and if Hotch hadn't dealt with so many distraught people in his life, he wouldn't have been able to understand, "I was back there and I was bleeding. Emily wasn't there until she was. She was missing her eyes and arms and she was skinned and 'We're coming back' was carved into her stomach, and -" He paused, having to take a sharp exhale before continuing. He winced, tears blurring his vision, "And there was nothing I could do."

Hotch so desperately wanted to hold him in his arms and assure over and over that he was going to be okay. But, he knew it just didn't work like that. Suddenly, Reid's expression changed and he gasped, brows raised and mouth hung open. 

The unit chief arched a brow, "What?"

"We're coming back-" Reid muttered. He turned back to Hotch, his grip on his arm tightening once again, "That's what he said in the car when he drove us to the hospital!" He was frantic, causing Emily to wake up startled.

"Do you know why they brought you to the hospital?" Hotch asked hesitantly. He could see that Reid was slowly opening up more, but he didn't want to push it.

It was silent as Reid found himself too choked up to reply.

"Because they didn't want me to die." Emily replied slowly and quietly, "They always had one rule when they invited other men. No killing. When my hand was cut off, the other man who sometimes gave us treatment didn't know what to do, so they brought us to the hospital, promising that they'd be back." Her face contorted with a mixture of fear and pain, tears welling up in her eyes, "I didn't remember it before, but I do now."

Hotch nodded, taking a quick time check. _Six thirty-five A.M_. Though he said they weren't allowed to come back till seven, he knew they were probably on their way now.

"Is there any chance they have said each other's names but you just don't remember?" Hotch asked.

"No," Emily shook her head quickly, "They had code names for each other."

Reid buried his cheek against Emily's collarbone smearing blood from his lip against her skin. Though, it didn't seem like either of them cared, "I remember every second of it. There were no names."

Hotch nodded, "Alright. We're working on bringing them in. You don't need to worry about them coming back."

"Well, I am." Emily sadly stated, attempting to blink back her tears.

Hotch's phone buzzed, receiving a text message from Garcia.

 _'The whole team is here, sir'_ it read. 

"I've got to go discuss details with the team, but I'll be right outside, okay?" Hotch said.

The two of them nodded. Hotch walked out into the hallway, leaving the door cracked a bit. He called Garcia's cell and she answered quickly.

"You're on speaker, my fancy-suited friend." She greeted.

"Alright. Tell me about the cellmates."

"Owens cellmate in prison was a man named Franklin Mylos, fifty-seven, died last year after shooting himself. Baker's cellmate was a man named Luke Jackson, thirty-two, thrown in the slammer for aggravated assault and rape. He got out of prison last year, got married and divorced within a two-month time period, and is behind on child support payments." He heard Garcia typing before she continued, "There seems to be weekly one-hundred-dollar withdrawals from his bank account, though there's no job history that I can see here."

"Send the mugshot, I'll see if they recognize him."

"Sent!" 

"Alright, I'll keep you guys on the phone," Hotch said, putting Garcia on speaker as he opened her message.

A white, poorly-aged male filled the screen. He opened the door, finding Reid and Emily clung to each other as if their lives depended on it - which they probably thought they did.

"We've got another lead," He told them, "Do you think you're able to tell me whether or not you identify them?"

Reid watched Emily nod and then nodded himself. Hotch noticed the pattern - Emily made Reid brave.

He flipped the screen around to reveal the mugshot. Almost immediately, both of them nodded. Spencer turned his head away, screwing his eyes shut, while Emily's gaze slowly rose to Hotch's eyes and he could tell just how awful Luke Jackson was.

"He wasn't there as often as three other men, but when he did, he separated us." She said shakily, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Send us the address, Garcia." Hotch requested.

"Already sent." She quipped.

"Alright. Keep working Jackson, Garcia. Morgan and I will check out his address. I want Rossi to meet us at the office and JJ to stay here."

"Meet you in the parking lot," Morgan replied before the line went dead.

Hotch put his cell in his pocket and turned to Prentiss and Reid, "We're going to go get him, alright? JJ will be down here."

As soon as the blonde entered the room, Hotch rushed down the halls quickly, but not so fast that he startled workers and patients. He opened the front doors and proceeded to the SUV that Morgan already sat in. Rossi had already left, rushing to the BAU.

Hotch climbed into the passenger seat, buckling in and giving Morgan a nod before the other man sped off onto the road. Hotch had expected him to rant or mutter angry remarks, but he remained silent which gave Hotch the idea of just how mad he was. Morgan took sharp turns, going over the speed limit and gripping the steering wheel tightly - Jackson was going to regret being born once he got his hands on him.

"I'm at the office, I'm going to see if these guys need anything and I'll try to build repour. They're proud and I'm going to get a full story and confession out of them." Rossi declared through the talky.

Hotch put his earpiece in and nodded, "We'll be at Jackson's in a second."

Morgan pulled into the driveway of his house and quickly threw on his vest. He led the way, Hotch behind him, both pointing their guns. Morgan looked into the window of the door and Hotch moved towards the back. With a swift kick, Morgan knocked the door down and moved in.

"FBI!" He exclaimed, making eye contact with a filthy man on the couch, beer in hand.

Jackson dropped his can and began running through the house, only to run face-first into Hotch. Morgan grabbed his arms and slammed him against the wall. He tightly placed handcuffs on him, and just for extra measure, slammed him into the wall a second time.

"I didn't do anything!" The man protested.

"Let's go, you sick fuck." Morgan growled, pushing Jackson ahead and beginning to read him his rights.

Three down, two-hundred and seventy to go.


	6. Holding On

Morgan and Hotch soon arrived at the BAU. Morgan kept a threatening stare or side-eye on Jackson as Hotch pushed him along from behind. It was a rough journey from the parking lot to the interrogation room because the man wouldn't stop skidding his feet, but they made it and both were more than relieved to have another one of the bastards in custody.

Rossi walked out of Baker's interrogation room, frustrated.

"What happened?" Hotch asked.

"I asked them if they wanted something to eat or drink, or if they wanted a bathroom break. They both said no. So I said to myself, 'Okay, let's build repour a different way', so I tried to sympathize with them, still no good. I couldn't get Owens' to shut up in the car, and now in here he just won't talk. Both said they won't do anything unless we go through with the deal." Rossi ranted, leaning against the wall.

"Let's see if we have better luck with Jackson." Hotch turned to the mirror and watched as the man picked at his fingernails. He was clearly nervous.

"I want to take a crack at him," Morgan mumbled, taking a file that local PD mailed to them early this morning.

"We don't want our emotions getting the best of us. I know this hits too close to home, but if he considers us a threat, he'll probably immediately contact a lawyer. He's nervous, let's make him comfortable at first." Hotch explained, taking the file out of Morgan's hands because he knew showing Jackson crime scene photos would only make him angrier instead.

Morgan swallowed hard. All he wanted to do was beat Jackson until he appeared as broken as Emily and Reid. 

"I'll go in first, see if I can get something out of him." Rossi took the file instead and waited for Hotch's approval.

When Hotch nodded, he went inside. Morgan stood shoulder to shoulder with him, crossing his arms and glaring at the mirror.

"Are you going to explain what I'm in here for?" Jackson snapped.

Rossi slowly took a seat in front of him, "I'm SSA David Rossi." He leaned forward, setting the file in the middle of the table, "Can you take a guess as to why you're here?"

"My ex-wife is accusing me of something I didn't do." He stated.

Rossi could see the hesitation, but there was also lots of control. He was good at keeping calm - manipulating people into thinking he was a good person. 

"Alright, well, Mr. Jackson, can I offer you a drink before we get started? We've got water, coffee, tea, what do you want?" 

Jackson shook his head, "I just want to get the hell out of here."

"I don't see that happening anytime soon, Mr. Jackson." Rossi replied, "So, are you still declining that drink?"

"Sure, fine, I'll take water." He said.

Rossi took the file and walked out of the room. He placed it back on the file holder of the door and turned to the other two.

"And now, we wait." He said.

At the hospital, Garcia sat in the conference room alone, looking through Jackson's phone records. She scribbled several texts from numbers down on a sticky note before attempting to track them - but the cell phones had been tossed into several different areas so they couldn't be tracked. She sighed, calling Morgan's cell.

"What's up?" He answered.

Immediately, she could tell he was mad, and so was she.

"I've been looking through Jackson's texts for nearly two hours now, right? And, I see all these sketchy texts from different cells, 'Are you coming down to see the girl and boy today?', and 'Hurry up, there's a line forming' -" Reading the texts out loud made her feel sick, "And I keep trying to track them, but all the phones were thrown away in different parts of the state and ugh!" She growled.

"Can you send them to my phone? We can print them out and use them against him." Morgan requested.

"Sent." Garcia went to hang up, but Morgan's voice came through again.

"And, Garcia?"

"Huh?"

"You know I love you, right?" 

A small smile grew on her face. She missed how their friendship used to be and Emily and Reid's abduction took a huge toll on it. She found herself in tears, for Emily and Reid had been rescued and Morgan was slowly coming back to her.

"I love you, too." She happily answered.

"If anybody can find these guys, I know it's you." He continued.

She raced through her own mind to find a witty reply, but it was empty.

"Wow, you've never been speechless before!" Morgan quipped, causing Garcia to laugh.

"I know, I'm shocked, too." She replied.

"Listen, I'm going to let you go so you can work your magic, but I just wanted to remind you that you can do it," Morgan said in his usual smooth way, just how Penelope liked it.

"Thank you, my Chocolate Thunder. P.G out!" She hung up her phone with a smile, but it soon faded into a frown as she continued her work.

At eleven in the morning, Emily woke up to JJ talking softly to Will on the phone, pacing around the room. She turned to Reid, watching him crinkle his nose for a split-second before resuming his soft, peaceful expression. He wasn't sleeping, but his eyes were closed. Emily stared at him for a few minutes, taking in the sight. He hadn't been that calm in months. Every time she saw him, he was in pain - crying, groaning, screaming. It was horrifying, but seeing him at that moment was reassuring.

JJ eventually said her goodbye's to her husband and hung up. She noticed that Emily was awake and flashed a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" She quietly asked, approaching the soft bedside chair to sit back down. 

Emily shook her head, staring at her painful wrist and the gauze that wrapped around her hand. She blinked and saw her limb missing its hand and widened her eyes. However, when JJ appeared worried, she shook it off. 

JJ reached for her shoulder and placed a gentle hand on it. They had been in recovery for a little over twenty-four hours now and she was happy to see the progress that both of them were making - even if Reid was still skittish with touch which she knew was completely normal.

"Henry asked about you two." She said with a smile.

"What did he say?" Emily asked, staring at her upturned lips.

"He asked if you two were alright, I told him you were safe now. He said he missed Aunt Em and Uncle Spence." Her smile grew wider as she continued and Emily noticed that her eyes were glassy with tears, "He's drawn several pictures for the both of you. He folded them and put them in a box and waited for you to come back."

Emily remained silent, for she didn't know how to reply. She focused on the tears in JJ's eyes and it formed a heavy heart.

JJ shook her head, "I don't know where I'm going with that, but what I'm trying to say is that I missed you." She tried to maintain her smile, but it turned into a sad frown and she let tears trail down her cheeks, "A lot."

Emily put her hand on top of JJ's and directed her down so she could wrap her arms around the blonde. She buried her face in the crook of JJ's collarbone and began to cry. She missed her touch, her smell, her silly remarks, and Henry stories. 

Eventually, Emily regained her voice, and hushedly replied, "I missed you too."

JJ released her from the hug and found that Spencer was now opening his eyes, staring at her. She moved to his side of the bed and wiped away her tear tracks, grinning once again.

"Can I see Henry's drawings?" Reid requested with a raspy voice.

JJ let out a few breathy laughs and nodded, "I'll bring them in the next time I go home."

Spencer nodded, slowly tilting his head until his cheek met Emily's shoulder. JJ sat back down and folded her hands in her lap. She cleared her throat before she delivered them news.

"Listen, we want to take pictures of the bites from your legs so we can identify unsubs through dental records." JJ began, "I know they're in uncomfortable areas and if you don't want to do it, you don't have to. If you're comfortable enough, we can also run kits to identify unsubs through DNA."

"You won't find any DNA," Reid stated bluntly.

JJ arched a confused brow before turning to Emily as she spoke.

"They burned the evidence." 

JJ suddenly remembered the burns on their bodies and she felt sick and awful for even bringing it up. She stared at her feet to focus on keeping her composure before shaking the blonde hair out of her face and continuing.

"Right, sorry. But, if you're up for it, do you maybe want to let them take pictures?"

"Do we have to go separately?" Reid asked.

"No," She shook her head, "Not if you don't want to."

"How long will it take?" Emily fiddled nervously with the hem of her gown, trying to quickly make a decision.

"A few minutes, maybe a little less." She replied.

Spencer's eyes darted back and forth between his hands before asking, "Will they have to touch me?" 

"No, I won't let them," JJ assured.

"I'll do it." Emily agreed.

Spencer nodded, causing JJ to let out a silent sigh of relief. It was going to be a huge help in the investigation.

Perhaps the only reason the two of them agreed was because they were continuously forcing themselves to think like an agent, not a victim. Despite Spencer's fear of touch and having to go anywhere near his captors, he thought similarly to Emily and made decisions based on whether or not it would help find the unsubs, not if he was comfortable or not. However, he drew the line at having to talk to one of them.

"Alright, do you want to take them now?" JJ pulled out her phone once again, prepared to contact Hotch to tell him the news before getting a crime scene photographer down.

Emily turned to Reid, "Let's get it over with."

He agreed. 

"I'm going to step outside for a second," JJ said as she proceeded out the door, calling Hotch.

"Hotchner." He answered.

"Both of them are willing to let a photographer take pictures of their bite marks." She explained.

"Good, that's great." He replied.

"How is the interrogation coming?"

"We haven't said a word to any of them for a few hours. We want to make Jackson feel as if he's not in control, so he's been waiting for water for a while. Rossi wasn't able to build repour with Owens and Baker, but we're about to continue with Jackson and I'll keep you updated." Hotch replied.

"Alright, good luck." With that, she hung up and called the crime scene photographer.

Meanwhile, Rossi, Morgan, and Hotch stood outside Jackson's room. They watched as he propped his feet up on the table calmly. He was getting way too comfortable for a guy who beat their friends. Rossi held a small cup of water in one hand and a file in the other. Hotch gave him the okay to enter and he opened the door and walked in.

Rossi set the cup down in front of Jackson who appeared displeased.

"It took you three hours to get me some water?" He snapped.

"I told you, Mr. Jackson, you're going to be here a while." Rossi took a seat in the chair across from him and slapped the file on the table, hoping to grab Jackson's attention with it.

The man eyed the file and Rossi noticed a change in his attitude - he accidentally let his nervousness shine through.

"Would you like to see why exactly the FBI stormed through your house and dragged you here today?" The Italian questioned.

Jackson hesitated, but he didn't want to sound suspicious, "Yes."

Rossi slid the file towards himself and opened it, pulling out a photo of the red-stained fence and bloody ropes attached. He pushed the photograph over to Jackson, who couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of it.

"Does this look familiar?" He asked.

"No," The man shook his head, "I've never seen that before."

Denial, denial, denial. It made Rossi want to spit in his face.

"Maybe you don't recognize it because two of my people aren't attached to it, huh?" 

Jackson appeared startled, "Your people?"

"Yes, why?" Rossi tilted his head to the side.

"I, uh-" He cleared his throat abruptly, "The criminal really took FBI agents?"

Rossi leaned closer to him, brows furrowing. He could smell the beer on his breath and see the fear in his eyes.

"We know what you did, Luke Jackson. There's no denying it." He growled, "I'll be sure to put you back in that prison so you can get the crap beaten out of you on the daily."

Jackson frantically shook his head.

"Unless you do me a favor." 

He abruptly stopped, mouth hanging open in surprise, "What?"

"Give me a list of every person who ever stepped foot in that fence and tortured the victims." He felt uncomfortable calling them victims, "And I'll be sure the judge a good word about you and send you to a nice prison where you won't be somebody's bitch."

Rossi pulled a pen and paper out of his pocket and gave it to Jackson. The man stared at him for a few moments, seemingly making a decision.

"How do I know you're not lying?" He asked.

"You have my word." Rossi sincerely replied.

Jackson nodded, still seemingly confused that an FBI agent made a deal with him. Then, he gripped the pen between his fingers and began scribbling on the paper. It took him a few minutes, but eventually, he set the utensil down.

"That's all that I know." He stated.

Rossi took the paper, "Your cooperation is appreciated. Now, I just have one more question."

"What?"

"Did you know they were FBI agents?" 

He shook his head, "No. I had no idea. Only Riley, Marcus, and a man I didn't know actually knew who they were, but we were never told names because they thought some of the men would chicken out if they knew who they were. I was invited by them, and so was everybody else. We were paid to do things to them and sometimes, I would pay to get myself in when they weren't allowing anybody to come by."

The fact that he was speaking about the matter as if it was a casual topic made Rossi sick to his stomach. He was self-aware, but he didn't see anything wrong with it. Eventually, he stood up and left the room.

Quickly, Morgan and Hotch gathered around him to read the list of names. Including Owens and Baker, they were given seventy-one names. Not nearly as much as they were expecting, but with seventy-one they had a great chance of getting the other two-hundred in.

Morgan pulled out his cell and rang Garcia.

"Speak to me!" She answered.

"Garcia, we got sixty-nine names from Jackson. I'm going to read them off to you so write them down. We're going to gather S.W.A.T and a PD's around the state, we're bringing all sixty-nine in by tonight and sending the three in our custody into a holding cell." Morgan explained.

"Sixty-nine?" Garcia asked in shock, "Holy crap!"

"I know, we're going to have to hold these guys at different police departments and prisons to interrogate them all. It's going to be a long couple days but it's going to be worth it knowing that they'll never see the light of day ever again." Morgan replied.

He began to list all the names off to Garcia who quickly wrote them down on an entire stack of sticky-notes. Once he hung up, she set her sparkly pencil down and left the conference room. She walked quickly down the halls until she reached Reid and Prentiss' room. JJ stood outside the door, waiting for the photographer to be done with them.

"JJ," She began with a wide smile, "They got sixty-nine more unsubs."

The other woman gasped, a grin growing on her face, "That's great!"

"They're going to try to gather them all tonight. We're calling in every law enforcement worker around the state!" She exclaimed.

"Spence and Emily are going to love to hear the news." She said in relief.

The photographer walked out, and JJ and Garcia trailed in quickly. Emily and Spencer were in their usual position - laying together side by side, except they were visibly more distressed and uncomfortable than before. 

"We have some good news." JJ began.

"They have a list of sixty-nine more of the bad guys. They're getting them all tonight." Garcia continued.

Emily and Spencer exchanged glances. Without even smiling, they could tell one another was happy to hear the news.

"That's good," Emily replied, sinking back into the mattress as if she let the tension in her muscles fade away.

JJ nodded, taking a seat by her and grabbing one of the fingers on her good hand gently.

"I've got some work to do, but I'll be back in a few hours!" Garcia left with a wave and shut the door behind her.

"When are we allowed to go home?" Spencer flinched at his own question because suddenly, he didn't know where home was.

"I'm sure in a few days you'll be discharged," JJ replied.

"Where are we going to stay?" Emily asked, brows pulling together as the stress and tension quickly came back.

"We're arranging you to stay at Rossi's unless you want to go back to your apartments."

Both of them shook their head in unison.

"Alright. Once you're released, you're staying at Rossi's, then. All of us are going to stay there for a little while, though." JJ explained.

"How's my mom?" Spencer was seemingly more concerned about her than anything at that moment, "Is she alright? Did you tell her what happened?"

JJ suddenly felt a wave of guilt come crashing down and she paused for a moment, trying to think of an answer.

"We never told her you were missing." She finally said, "We knew you were alive and we didn't want to put your mom under that kind of stress." 

JJ only hoped he took the news well and it didn't cause any further stress for himself. However, he was alright with it.

"Good, that's good. I don't want her to know what happened." He replied.

"That's alright, Spence."

To her surprise, Reid reached over and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together for just a moment before he got uncomfortable and pulled away. It was enough to make JJ full of joy, though. His hands were rough, dry, and cracked but she wanted nothing more than to hold his hand again and pull him into a long-anticipated hug. When he was ready, though, she decided. There was no rush to healing.


	7. Each Other

Over the next couple of days, it was just JJ and Penelope in the hospital with their recovering friends. Both of them were slowly but surely talking more and more and it delighted them. Emily had even cracked a few smiles. 

The rest of their team were out across the state interrogating several unsubs - which led them to find more and more over the course of two days. They restlessly worked until they gathered as much information as they could - finding one-hundred and one men in connection to the abduction, torture, and rape of Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid. They still had more than half to find, leaving them just as stressed, angry, and tired. 

Spencer's doctor quietly came in the room, finding that Emily was sleeping while Spencer was awake reading a book that Garcia had brought him. It was a book she kept on her - the one she had taken when they were abducted. Finally, he was able to finish it.

JJ looked up from her phone, giving a sweet smile to the doctor. Spencer, on the other hand, kept his nose in his book.

"I'm here to change your bandages, Dr. Reid." The doctor gently stated, setting his welt treatment on the counter.

He shook his head, "Just one more minute."

Spencer finally found a moment's peace and didn't want to ruin it with touch or reminders of what happened.

"Alright, I'll go check on my other patients and circle back, okay?" She sent a nod towards JJ who grinned once again before leaving the room.

JJ turned to Reid, who didn't seem to care about his surroundings for the first time since he was admitted to the hospital. She figured he was dissociating from reality and using the book for help. It would make sense if books were his coping mechanism. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but she didn't want to disrupt his peace.

Emily's eyes fluttered open and immediately, she examined the room, looking for danger. She could feel Reid's arm against hers, and it was reassuring, but she couldn't find JJ. Her eyes went back and forth, searching the light above her for a sign of JJ, but she was nowhere in sight.

"JJ?" She called out.

The blonde hurried from Reid's side to Emily's and placed her hand on her arm, using the other hand to gently direct her face so their eyes would meet.

"I'm right here, it's alright." She reassured.

Glancing at Spencer, she found that he hadn't moved a muscle despite Emily's sudden outburst. He was blocking everything out. He heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing. He normally got locked in a good book, but given the circumstances, she knew it was for different reasons.

"JJ," Emily's expression softened and she placed her good hand on top of her knuckles, "I thought you were gone."

"I'm not leaving your side." She replied, lips turning up into a small grin.

Emily returned with a slight smile, the dimple on her cheek making a quick appearance. Then, she turned to Reid to remind herself that he was safe. He appeared relaxed and it calmed her down. 

"Did you have a bad dream?" JJ asked, brows pulling together.

"More of a flashback, I guess." She admitted.

JJ noticed a shameful look and she didn't ask any further questions. 

Spencer's doctor soon returned with a kind smile.

"Alright, Dr. Reid, I'm ready when you are." She quipped.

He shook his head once again and Dr. Reyes frowned. She figured he was having a bad day. 

"Listen, I know it's hard but I need to change your bandages again. Can you put the book down for me?" She asked, slowly approaching him.

He didn't reply and she slowly took the book from him. He snapped back into reality and immediately, he felt upset. 

"Do you want me to leave the room, Spence?" JJ asked, getting up from her chair.

He shrugged and JJ exited the room, anyway. She didn't want to invade his privacy. He was able to sit up on his own, swinging his legs out to the edge of the bed. Emily crawled to his side and with a painful groan, adjusted herself so she sat uncomfortably next to him. As soon as his gown was off, he grabbed her wrist and stared into her eyes, darting back and forth between them.

"I see you're doing a lot better with movement. We'll be able to take out that catheter if you'd like." She said, unraveling the bandages around his abdomen.

Quickly, he shook his head. He wanted it out, but he didn't want to be touched in that way.

"Whatever you want." She replied, gently rubbing ointment across his welts. 

She proceeded to wrap fresh gauze around his thighs and torso. She could see that he was gaining weight and color in his skin.

"You're doing great, Dr. Reid." She stated happily, delighted at his healing so far.

She slipped his gown on and helped him lay back down. His grip stayed tightly on Emily as they sank back into the mattress.

"Good job," She whispered in his ear.

He nodded, placing his cheek on her shoulder as the doctor handed him his book. She walked outside and shut the door, grinning happily at JJ.

"I have great news about Dr. Reid." She began.

"That's great!" JJ smiled.

"He's gained more BMI and weight since he was admitted and I notice that he's sitting up by himself. He clearly has more color in his skin and I think he'll be able to be discharged as soon as he begins eating, drinking, and walking. I want you to encourage him to do so with small amounts of liquid foods, as well as take a short walk down the hall and back if he can handle it. I'm sure Agent Prentiss' doctor will say the same." 

"Right," She agreed.

She couldn't stop smiling at Reid's progress.

"I'll be back in a few hours. I'll see you then." With that, Doctor Reyes disappeared down the hall.

JJ walked back inside to find Spencer back in his book. She remembered how he reacted when Morgan asked if he wanted water, so she refrained from asking questions. Instead, she put it in a statement and hoped they wouldn't panic over it. 

"I'm going to get you two something from the cafeteria." 

Thankfully, they didn't seem startled. She wasn't sure if it was the statement form that deactivated fight or flight or if it was the fact that they knew they could trust her. Either way, she was grateful to see the reactions were not that of terror.

Emily nodded and Spencer only replied with a slight glance. Neither of them was sure what to say. They had barely eaten over the course of three months and hadn't even thought about food yet. At the mention of it, however, they realized just how hungry they were.

JJ returned with a small cup of applesauce for each of them. She set a tray over their bed and placed them in front of the two. Emily propped her wrapped hand on the tray and grabbed her spoon with her right, her broken finger sticking out as she did so. Surprisingly, Spencer sat his book down at the end of the bed to eat his meal.

JJ felt proud to see them both doing a lot better than she had expected. She knew that there was a lot more than what met the eye, but both of them were responsive and verbal and that's all she could ask for. She watched as they both finished their applesauce before taking the empty containers and throwing them in the trashcan in the corner. She took the tray down and sat back down beside Emily.

Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi arrived back at the hospital. Immediately, they gathered in the conference room and found Garcia typing away.

"How is it going?" Rossi asked.

"I've done about fifty of these guys' background checks so far. Text messages are from deactivated or tossed phones but I've found that they're to each other. Phone records are clean for the most part, no calls to one person repeatedly so I'm thinking these guys stuck to texting. About twenty of my fifty used to be in prison so I'm making a separate list of those and going back to check out their cellmates." She explained.

"Good work, Garcia." Hotch began scribbling on a sticky note and Rossi hovered behind Garcia, watching her work.

"I'm going to switch off with JJ. I'm sure she hasn't gotten any sleep for the past two days." Morgan suggested.

"Good, tell her to go home for a few hours, my orders," Hotch replied.

Morgan nodded, heading out of the conference room and to Reid and Emily's. Emily was watching Spencer read while JJ stared at her phone. Looking closely, she was texting Will. As Morgan shut the door, both Emily and JJ turned their attention to him while Reid - again - stayed locked on his book.

"Hey guys," Morgan greeted.

"Hi," Emily replied, smiling slightly at him.

He walked towards her and gently brushed his fingers over her knuckles, grinning at the fact that _she was smiling!_

"Why don't you go home for a few hours, JJ? I'll stay here," Morgan said.

JJ nearly protested, but she couldn't deny the fact that needed to shower and sleep, not to mention that she missed her family.

"Alright. Let's step outside for a second." She led him in the hall, shutting the door.

"What's up?" He asked.

"They can be discharged soon if they start eating, drinking, and walking. The doctor told me to give Spence small amounts of liquid food and take him for walks down the hall if he can handle it." She repeated the doctor's orders. "Emily's doctor hasn't checked in yet, but I'm sure she's going to say the same. Emily actually looks a little better as far as gaining weight and color in her skin."

"That's great," Morgan smiled.

"And don't ask a question, say it as a statement and see if they protest. I remember Spence having a panic attack when you asked a question, but he didn't seem startled when I said it that way." She continued.

"How are they both doing? Do you know triggers?" 

"Emily is doing good, she's been smiling and sleeping. She gives hugs. She does get upset when you talk about her injuries and after she gets her bandages changed. She seems to get a lot more nightmares than Spence, though." 

He nodded and JJ continued.

"Spence still doesn't like to be touched, he did grab my hand for a second, though. He's been talking a little bit more, nothing about what happened. He gets upset about the same things as Emily and when he has nightmares he has a stronger reaction. When he reads, he's fine, so I'll stop by his apartment and bring him more books since he's just been re-reading that one. Emily doesn't really have anything to escape, yet, so I'll probably bring her a book, too." 

"Emily's a lil' bookworm, too, don't forget." Morgan quipped.

"I remember," She nodded with a smile.

"Alright, go get some sleep." 

"You better give me hourly updates," She demanded as she began to walk away.

"I will." He promised, entering the room and sitting beside Emily.

"What did you talk about?" She asked.

"JJ's going to bring y'all some books." He replied, taking her finger in his hand.

She closed her eyes, nodding. 

Spencer reached the end of his book once again and set it down. He was bored with it, staring at the ceiling. Morgan watched him slowly blink, letting out a heavy sigh. 

"You alright, Reid?" He asked.

Reid remained silent for a few moments before replying, "I've been working with cases for almost a decade, and never have I ever seen survivors survive for as long as we did, considering what we went through." His brows pulled together and his jaw stiffened, appearing as if he was about to burst into tears, "Why did they keep Emily and I alive? Why didn't they let me die?"

Morgan's heart sank as he analyzed his statement - he wished he were dead instead. 

"If they let us die, they'd have to find a new victim." Emily's eyes filled with tears and she turned to stare at Reid, a tear rolling down the side of her head.

"These guys are sick and you didn't deserve any of that." Morgan began, "I will never fully understand the way you feel, but I know partly how bad it hurts and I promise that time heals."

"I want it to stop hurting now," Spencer weakly said, sobbing hard.

Emily gently rested her head on top of his chest and cried as well. She felt the same as him, but she was better at compartmentalizing. She didn't remember everything from the abduction and she knew that with Reid's mind, he did. She wished he never had to go through the same things as her. She wished she had never taken him out that night. If she hadn't, he wouldn't be suffering, and neither would she. 

Emily blamed herself for everything from the start. For taking away JJ's happiness the day after her wedding, for causing the entire team to fall apart, and more importantly, for ruining Reid's life. She didn't know how to put her apology into words just yet, so she didn't talk about it.

The door opened and Prentiss's doctor walked in. Upon seeing both of them upset, her greeting smile faded into a frown and she softened her voice.

"If you don't want your bandages changed right now, I can come back later. I just want to see if you're able to begin walking around like Dr. Reid today." She said.

Emily picked her head up and wiped her tears, "I can get them changed now." She just wanted it to be over.

Morgan stood from his chair and gave her a few reassuring taps on her knuckles. He walked into the hallway, leaning against the wall as he waited. 

She was stripped from her gown and gauze - except for the dressings on her left hand and gripped Reid's wrist for support. Both of them had sat up by themselves once again, delighting the doctor. The ointment was rubbed across her torso, shoulders, and back, and gauze was wrapped around her upper thighs and hips. 

"I think we can start leaving dressings off your stomach. Your infections are doing pretty well." She explained.

She trailed up her body before examining her orbital fracture. Her eye was still partly blood and bruises surrounded it, but the swelling had gone down a bit. 

"Good, you're doing great."

Lastly, she unwrapped the gauze around her hand. Emily had never caught a glimpse of it since she wouldn't let herself, but something in her mind told her to look so she did. The part of her wrist that her hand attached to was swollen and many stitches circled around it. She attempted to move all her fingers, but the pinky remained limp and it terrified her. The tears came back to her and she shook her head, taking a sharp inhale. 

"No, Emily, stop." Reid urged her to stop, but she couldn't rip her eyes away from her hand.

She shook her head more vigorously, "No, no, it's ruined!" She shouted.

The doctor quickly began to wrap fresh gauze around her wound, "It's going to take a while for all your fingers to begin moving, but don't worry, it's going to be just fine."

Her eyes screwed shut and she shook her head over and over, seeing her wrist squirting blood everywhere as her hand perched limply in her other one.

"Sweetie, I need you to breathe." The doctor urged, "Slow down, relax."

Her gown slid back on her and the uncomfortable material against her skin only made her panic more.

"Emily, please," Reid whispered, wrapping his boney arms gently around her neck.

She buried her face into his chest, letting out heavy, quick breaths and crying so hard, it was exhausting. 

Her doctor searched the cabinets for medication before choosing lorazepam and putting a few milligrams in her I.V. Emily continued to sob uncontrollably in Reid's arm, so the doctor walked into the hallway to retrieve Morgan. She left the door open as she grabbed his wrist to talk.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked quickly, staring at Emily. Her body was shaking slightly.

"She's having a panic attack, but I gave her lorazepam and she should be fine in thirty minutes. I think it's best if you let her be until she calms down. As far as physical healing, she's doing great. Her infections have almost gone away completely and I think a walk around the hospital will be fine. If she continues to show that kind of progress, we can release her tomorrow." The doctor explained.

Morgan listened, though he was a lot more concerned about Emily's attack. He nodded once she finished. She released his wrist and he rushed back into the room. He nearly rubbed her back but figured if she was having a panic attack, other people touching her wouldn't work out so well.

Emily soon calmed down, guiding her and Spencer back down to lay and she fell asleep in no time. Spencer stared at her face and counted the bruises - fifteen. He watched her sleep for a few minutes, and he decided he could watch her peacefully lay for hours and hours. It was a nice change. He used to count the number of colors in her iris' as he was beaten, and sometimes he couldn't due to the tears in her eyes. He would be forced to stare at her as she was beaten as well. Her look of terror would never leave his memory, but he forgot about it when she appeared calm the way she did at that moment.

Morgan noticed how when one was upset, the other was strong for them and he figured, through it all, at least they had each other.


	8. To Be Killed

"So," Hotch began, examining the rest of his members at the conference table, "Baker, Owens, and an unknown man abducted them and paid other people to torture them."

Garcia formed a disgusted frown, "God, that's awful."

"All the men we caught have been transferred to different correctional centers around the state. I doubt we'll be getting anything else from them, but if we do, they're being monitored twenty-four-seven." He continued.

"So we're back at square one," Rossi said in disappointment.

"Yep, I checked out the cellmates and came up dry. Either dead, still in prison, or has been in a different country for the past six months and his alibi checks out." Garcia explained. "What are we going to do?"

"Right now, all we can do is be there for Reid and Prentiss," Rossi replied.

JJ entered the room and shut the door. She had just got back after a six-hour on and off nap and she felt just as refreshed as she could. She set a box full of Henry's drawings for them down, as well as a smaller one with books inside. She sat down beside Rossi, groaning in exhaustion.

"You alright, kiddo?" Rossi asked.

"Henry didn't want me to leave. He threw a tantrum, so I stayed for a little longer and fell asleep. I didn't realize it was eight O'clock until I woke up. I should've been here sooner and I was going to go into their room but I saw both of them sleeping and Morgan was there and handling everything so I just -"

"JJ," Hotch stopped her small rant before she got carried away, "It's alright."

"Yeah, well, anyway, the doctor said they can be discharged really soon, so I figured Garcia and I can swing by Rossi's and pick out a room for them tonight. Maybe two. Then we'll take some things from their apartments." She continued.

Rossi pulled his house key out of his pocket and handed it to the blonde.

"Oh, can we do late night shopping and get them lots of pajamas and comfy clothes?" Garcia suggested.

"Of course, I think they'll like that." JJ agreed.

"We're at a dead-end right now, so it'll be fine if you go down right now," Hotch said, reading the sticky notes of events on the whiteboard.

"Alright. We'll be back around midnight." JJ said, "Do me a favor and bring their stuff down when you get the time."

Garcia closed her laptop and slung her purse over her shoulder, following JJ out the door. The hospital was bright and busy at the time, but they managed to get through and to the parking lot. They hopped into one of their SUV's and began their trip to their first stop: the store.

JJ focused on the road to prevent herself from stressing herself out any further. Garcia couldn’t help but remember all the times she, JJ, and Emily went shopping together on their days off. Every little thing reminded her of them.

“Are you okay?” JJ asked, glancing at Garcia for a second.

She was snapped out of her small trance and nodded, “Yeah, I guess.”  
  
“What’s wrong, Penelope?”   
  
“I keep thinking about how we used to do this with Emily every chance we got and now it’s just like…” She paused. “I’m not sure if we’ll ever do it with her again.”

“Emily needs time to get back on her feet. She’s strong, both of them are. They’re going to fight through it.” She reassured, taking her hand off the steering wheel and placing it on the other woman’s leg.

“I know. I know, but, I work with people who experience traumatic events and I know them well enough to know that events like these change people. I’m just so worried. I want to tell them it’s going to be okay. That it’ll never happen again, but how are they supposed to believe me when over half of the men who tortured them are still out there?”

“Penelope, we’re going to bring all of them in. We will never _ever_ lose them again.”   
  
Garcia wiped away the tear tracks on her cheeks and nodded, “You’re right.”

“Those guys will not win,” JJ concluded.  
  
She shook her head, “Nope.”   
  
Soon enough, they reached the outlet stores. It was eight-thirty, but they were still open for a few more hours. They walked down the side-walk, going in and out of stores with more and more bags. The women picked out sweatpants, sweaters, sweatshirts, every soft, comfy material they could find that would fit their small bodies. 

Once they were done, they headed to Emily’s old apartment. They kept her and Reid’s apartment keys in the SUV for times they needed to investigate. Nobody ever took them out because it was hard to accept they were gone.

They walked up the stairs and to her apartment door. Penelope unlocked it and they trailed inside. It still smelled clean since the last time Garcia came in and cleaned it - nearly two months ago. Her table had a single plate on it and the dress she wore at JJ’s wedding slung messily over her couch. A pile of shoes lay in the corner and a bottle of unopened champagne perched on the counter.

JJ walked into her bedroom and gathered the comforter off her bed. She figured it would be easier to heal if they were in contact with familiar things, but it couldn’t be known until they reacted to it. She grabbed a packaged toothbrush from the closet and scrunchies to put her hair up. Penelope gathered her soaps from the bathroom and took a few picture frames she had kept on her desk. Penelope stared at one in particular. It was the team at Reid’s surprise party, everybody with a smile on their face. She missed it.

“Are you ready?” JJ asked.

Garcia nodded, adding the picture to her collection and walking out of the apartment. They threw Emily’s belongings in the trunk of the SUV, already full of shopping bags, and headed to Reid’s.

Spencer had left his apartment a lot neater. A few books scattered along the table, but otherwise, his apartment was organized and clean. Penelope immediately grabbed as many books from his bookshelf as she could while JJ grabbed his blankets, a packaged toothbrush, and soaps. 

They weren’t sure how they would react to being surrounded by familiar things. They knew it could go one of two ways - feeling comfortable with their environment or getting upset because it reminded them of how things were. If they ended up not liking their belongings, they would take them back with no questions asked. They weren’t going to rush the healing process.

Their last stop was Rossi’s mansion. They chose the guest room closest to a bathroom with the biggest bed. They replaced the bedsheets with the ones they took from their homes, one side with Emily’s comforter and the other with Reid’s. Books were stacked on the nightstand on Spencer’s side and pictures of the team on Emily’s side.

In the bathroom, they put both of their toothbrushes in the cabinet and put their soaps underneath the sink. Then, the women dumped their new clothes out of their shopping bags, took the tags off, and began to fold them. Penelope did Emily’s clothes while JJ did Spencer’s.

“I hope they like it,” Penelope said, smiling because she couldn’t wait for Prentiss and Reid to be discharged.

“We’ll see,” JJ hummed.

Meanwhile, Hotch carried a box of Henry’s drawings in one hand and books in the other through the hall. He couldn’t quite open the door himself, so he looked into the window inside to see everybody inside awake. He softly knocked, hoping it wouldn’t startle them. 

Morgan opened the door and took one of the boxes out of Hotch’s hands.

“Hotch,” Emily whispered, a small grin forming on her face.

He was the first one she saw after waking up and she had missed him. Hotch set a box on the floor and walked to her bedside. He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“Glad to see you both doing so well.” He said.

“What is in the boxes?” Reid quietly asked.

“JJ brought you guys Henry’s drawings and some books for you,” Hotch replied as Morgan knelt down and took a stack of the materials out.

“Where is JJ?” Emily asked.

“She went with Garcia to set up the room in Rossi’s house for you,” Hotch replied, rubbing his thumb back and forth across her hospital gown.

Emily nodded, leaning into Hotch’s touch as Reid shifted to be closer to her. 

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Morgan asked after organizing a stack of books on the counter, “We can come back, relax, look at the little man’s drawings and take a nap.”  
  
Spencer nodded, throwing the blanket off of himself. He held onto Morgan’s arm as he made it to his feet, but let go as soon as he felt stable. Unexpectedly, Emily shook her head.

“It’s uncomfortable to walk. I want to get the catheter out.” She announced, face paling slightly after the words left her lips. She wanted it out but didn’t want to go through the process- much like Reid.

“I’ll get the doctor in here,” Hotch said, going over to the phone and pressing a button to signal the doctor.

“Do you still want to go for that walk, kid?” Morgan asked.

Reid and Prentiss stared at each other for a moment. She looked reassuring, her eyes saying what she couldn’t bring herself to vocalize, _‘I’ll be okay._ ’ He turned back to Morgan, and as much as he didn’t want to leave her, he trusted Hotch and knew she would be safe.

Reid nodded at last and Morgan was proud of their progress. He was prepared for anything, though. They had never been separated since they were reunited. 

He cautiously watched as Spencer began to walk, prepared to catch him if he fell and wheeling his I.V along with them. He was doing well walking without assistance, taking slow and steady baby steps. They made it out of the room and into the hall. His legs began to shiver as the cold outside air hit his skin 

“You’re doing great, Reid,” Morgan assured.

“Thanks.” He said quickly, watching as his bare feet took each step.

“I’m proud of you, you know that?”   
  
Spencer took a second to glance up at the other man, trying to see if he was genuine, which he was.

“Why?” He asked.

“Because you’re tough.” He replied.

Reid found a bench in the hall and sat down, pressing his knees together until they hurt. Morgan sat beside him, staring at his bruised face. His brown eyes examined the wall across from them before he turned to the other and their gazes met. He counted the colors in his eyes and could only find one - a dark, dark brown. It was a technique he was used to doing.

“Are you okay?” Morgan asked, brows pulling together.

Spencer seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying, “I always counted the number of colors I could find in Emily’s irises when either of us was getting tortured.” He looked down at his lap, trying to hold back his tears, “It reminded me that we were alive. But, it also reminded me that we were in pain.”

His face was expressionless, but he was crying. Morgan watched as a tear slid across his cheek.

“It gave me something to focus on that wasn’t one of the- the.” Reid paused because he wasn’t sure what to call them. They were not human to him.  
  
“I understand,” Morgan cut in.

He swallowed hard, nodding and looking back down, “Because I never knew when I was going to die. I knew I was going to die eventually, and I didn’t know when.” His nose crinkled and he finally let himself break down, “I wanted Emily to be the last person I saw if I died. But, if we were separated, I would close my eyes and think of you.”  
  
Morgan’s heart sank. Spencer always thought of him as a protector and the time he needed him most, he wasn’t there to protect him. He blinked back tears and listened to him as he continued.

“In the beginning, I was so scared of you finding me dead. But over time, I was only scared of you finding me like this.” His voice broke, gesturing to his frail body.

“Spencer, I don’t see you as a victim. I see you as you. I see you like the nerdy kid who wears sweater vests and reads books about quantum physics for fun.” Morgan replied, “I know you’re embarrassed or ashamed of what happened, but I want you to know that none of us are judging you for what happened.”  
  
Reid let out a small nod, wiping his tears away, “I know.” He whispered.

“And I’m proud of you for being a fighter.” 

“Survivors aren’t always fighters. Most often, they’re just the luckiest.” 

Morgan shook his head, “But you _are_ a fighter.”   
  
“Maybe,” He simply replied.

Back in the hospital room, Emily was crying. Her doctor had already taken the catheter out and it was painful and uncomfortable. Hotch sat beside her, holding her good hand gently. He wasn’t sure how to approach the topic and she was sobbing far too hard to even hear him. It was hard for him to see her in such a condition.

The door opened and Reid and Morgan got back from their walk. Spencer’s eyes widened and he immediately turned to Hotch.

“What happened to her?” He shouted, brows furrowing, “What did they do to her?”

He rushed to her side, causing searing pains to run up his back but he didn’t care.

“It’s okay, Reid, they just took the catheter out,” Hotch reassured.

Emily turned to him and nodded. He crawled on the bed, hovering over her on his hands and knees and wiping her tears away as fast as they came. He was panicked. Watching her in such distress reminded him of all the things she had to experience with him and he hated that more than anything.

She was able to calm down in a few minutes, still shaken up, but no longer crying. Reid collapsed on the mattress beside her and let out a long sigh. Before Morgan could suggest taking a look at Henry’s drawings for them, Emily closed her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep.

Reid stared at the ceiling blankly, his chest rising and falling steadily. Hotch and Morgan watched the two closely. Emily had fallen asleep, but Spencer wasn’t making an effort to for the first time since he was admitted. His gaze stuck to the lights above him and it was as if he had lost all consciousness.

“Reid,” Morgan snapped him out of his daze before he fell into a flashback of what happened.

Slowly, Spencer turned to look at him. Moments later, he burst into tears, sinking into his pillow and screwing his eyes shut

“Reid, what’s wrong?” Hotch asked, turning to Morgan with wide eyes for a second.

He replied shakily, voice muffled by the lump in his throat, “It’s hard to see her like that.”

Hotch pursed his lips and glanced at Morgan once again.

“I’m sorry, kid. Try to get some sleep.” Morgan whispered.

He went in to pat his shoulder but stopped himself abruptly. Spencer didn’t like touching and he had welts on the area - two things Morgan had to constantly remind himself.

Reid reached out, passed Morgan, and to the nightstand. He winced at the sharp pains in his ribs, hissing through his teeth. His fingers grazed over the top book of the stack.

“I can get that for you,” Morgan offered and Reid sighed.

He handed him the book and Reid wasted no time to open it and begin quickly reading the words on the page. His eyes scanned each letter just as quick as they used to and it gave the other two reassurance that their genius was still in there.

By three in the morning, he had read each book from the stack twice. Hotch re-entered the room, carrying a tray with warm soup on it. He placed it over Reid’s lap, being careful not to nudge Emily as she was still sleeping.

“If you eat you get to go home later,” Hotch softly said.

Spencer nodded, picking up the spoon. The way his hand was postured caused the other two to conclude that he needed to get used to it again. His lanky fingers and boney wrist appeared as if they would snap if he made any movements, but they didn’t. He hesitated to sip it out of the spoon at first, but as soon as he got through the first couple tastes and realized the soup was free of any drugs, he quickly downed it.

Morgan picked up his own water bottle from the floor and handed it to him, seeing that he was thirsty as well. Again, he hesitated to take the first sip, but got past it and drank the water as if it was his last. He let out a sharp exhale, setting the empty bottle down and turning to see if Emily was okay. 

Her eyes were still closed and her lips were slightly parted. He could hear her soft breathing and found it quite calming. Her skin was bruised and pale, but he imagined how she appeared before the abduction - everything down to the clothes she was wearing. When he snapped back, he was faced with reality. She didn’t look like that anymore. She looked like one of the corpses on the screen at the roundtable room or one of the surviving victims they were sent to the hospital to interrogate. As much as he didn’t want to think it, it was true - they were not agents, profilers, or even average human beings at that moment. They were victims. And the fact that he was not only a victim but a witness to everything that caused Emily to be deemed just that, killed him inside.


	9. Home

_ “Emily. Emily wake up.”  _   
  
Her eyes fluttered open and she was met with JJ’s soft smile, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. JJ and Garcia had returned hours ago with clothes for them to change in to for when they left. She reflected her grin and turned to see Reid. He was awake, but visibly nervous, causing her to sit up and immediately feel distressed.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, eyes widening at JJ’s.

“You’re leaving. They have to take the catheter out. When the doctor comes in, I’ll grab you both wheel-chairs, alright?” She placed her hand on Emily’s good wrist.

Prentiss nodded, leaning closer to Reid so he knew she was there. Tears blurred his vision and his hand frantically searched for a spot on her arm to hold. He grabbed on to her bicep, layered in small green bruises - however, he knew well enough to know that they didn’t hurt.

The doctor arrived and JJ flashed them both a comforting smile before exiting the room. The rest of the team stood outside, anxiously waiting for anything. Above all, they were expecting to hear Reid scream. Garcia’s brows pulled together, clenching her jaw to prepare herself to listen to the very thing that would haunt her forever. JJ noticed so she approached her.

“Do you want to go grab a wheel-chair for them?” JJ suggested.

Garcia nodded, but as they were walking away, they heard his fainted cries that caused their hearts to drop.   
  
They walked silently through the halls before returning with the rest of the group. Morgan covered his ears, facing the wall while Rossi and Hotch tried to ignore his cries. They died down soon enough and the doctor walked out of his room.

“I have a report on the counter for you to take, instructions on how to continue to treat them. I have put in prescriptions for their burns, welts, and infections that should be ready for you to pick up in an hour. I wish both of them a full recovery soon.” The doctor smiled.

Hotch shook her hand, “Thank you.”   
  
JJ and Garcia were the ones to help them out of the bed. Their I.V’s had been taken out and both of them sat on the same side of the bed. Spencer was still crying and Emily ran her hand up and down his back

“Do you want to get changed?” JJ asked, shutting the door for privacy.

They were able to comfort each other and help each other heal mentally, but as for physically, they needed assistance from the others. JJ and Garcia put it upon themselves to help. They figured it would run a lot smoother since they were trusted women.

Reid rubbed his tears away, “Just don’t look.”   
  
“I won’t, I promise,” JJ replied sincerely.

Garcia had taken Emily’s hand to help her stand, while JJ was able to undress the other while he was sitting. She was flexible with situations like these, it was the motherly instinct in her.

Penelope was able to pull an oversized sweater over her injured hand delicately and pull it the rest of the way on. She winced as the material hit her skin, tugging at the collar. Wearing clothes again was going to take a lot of getting used to.

“Don’t look, don’t look,” Reid whispered, keeping his eyes on JJ.

She put a similar oversized sweater on him, covering him down to his knees which relieved him. The clothing was uncomfortable and he didn’t like it at all, but he would hate to continue to be exposed.

Once they were both dressed, they were helped onto separate wheelchairs. Garcia smiled and tucked Emily’s frizzy, unkempt hair behind her ears. It was nice to see them in something other than a hospital gown, it gave her at least some sense of normality in the situation so far.

Hotch held the door as they each came out one at a time.    
  
“Are you ready for casa de Rossi?” Rossi quipped, walking alongside Emily.

Emily nodded, while Spencer kept his eyes on Morgan. He realized he was, once again, counting the colors of his eyes. It comforted him, so Derek continued to stare.

They reached the parking lot soon enough. The cold air caused their cheeks and noses to turn red quickly. There wasn’t enough room for all of them to cram in one SUV, so as much as they didn’t want to, Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan took the second one.

The ride to Rossi’s mansion was silent. Reid sat in the middle seat, huddled towards Emily while she looked out the window in complete dismay. The outside world was nothing surprising - she had been in it twenty-four seven for ninety days, but the fact that they weren’t surrounded by fence and lines of men was something she wasn’t used to. She had forgotten how pretty the blue sky was and how the trees passed by in a blur. The clouds up above shaped into abstract shapes and the sun was so,  _ so  _ bright. The life she once lived she desperately wanted back, but she knew it would take time. She didn’t want to wait.

JJ continuously glanced in the rearview mirror as she drove and Garcia turned around ever so often to make sure they were okay. Reid tugged at the waistband of his sweatpants that hung loosely over his protruding hipbones, whether it was to pull them up or to relieve his skin for a moment.    
  
“Look at the sky,” Emily whispered into his ear, softly enough to where he could only hear.

He looked up from his lap and to the sky. It was a bright blue with minimal clouds and he determined with just a glance that they were cumulus clouds. For the first time in forever, he wasn’t looking at the sky with tears blurring his eyes. It wasn’t a look full of disgust, pain, or distress. It was calming, peaceful. He wasn’t sure how to process it, but he didn’t feel an ache within his blood and decided it was a happy sight.

His fingers wrapped around her forearm as he continued to stare out the window with her. They both felt unusual to be rescued. They had thought they would die there, which was terrifying because they weren’t sure who was going to die first. Neither of them wanted to go at first, for the sake of any sort of mentality the other had. But, at a certain point, they both wished to be the one because they would be jealous if the other had died and not them - they would no longer be in pain.

Suffering was not something they got used to, but as time went on, they couldn’t think of a time where they weren’t in such a state. They gradually watched each other lose themselves, which was the worst form of torture. They each went from,  _ ‘The team is on their way’  _ to  _ ‘We only have each other.’ _ The realization that they weren’t going to be recused any time soon was a tough thought to fully process, but over time they swallowed the fact and accepted their fates. 

“We’re here!” JJ announced in a sing-song voice, snapping both of them out of their small trances.

The women got out of the SUV as Rossi pulled in, moving to the back seat to help Reid and Emily out. Garcia took Emily’s good hand, holding her last three fingers and helping her to her feet. Reid, however, flinched at JJ’s sudden touch.

“I’m sorry, Spence,” JJ quickly apologized.

Spencer’s heart was racing, but he didn’t want to make her feel bad. He couldn’t bring himself to get out of the car, feeling frozen with fear. He gripped the back of the driver’s seat and stared at his lap.

“Hey, kid.” Morgan’s voice caused him to pick his head up, “Let me help you.”   
  
With that, he held his two hands out in front of him. At his own, slow pace, Reid reached out and placed his hands in his palms. Derek’s hands wrapped over them as he gently pulled him out of the vehicle and onto the pavement outside. Once he was steady, he let go, proceeding to the front door by himself.

Emily’s hips still felt extremely tight, so she held on to Penelope’s arm as they walked. Rossi unlocked the door and held it open as the rest of his team went inside, “Welcome!”   


Spencer immediately went to the couch in the living room and sat down, resting his weakened muscles for a moment. The others found it reassuring how Reid wasn’t nervous about being inside Rossi’s home. He wasn’t really thinking of it, though, more focused on his pain.

“I’ll go pick up prescriptions. It’s not far from here.” JJ told the team, keeping her eyes on Emily, who nodded in response.

“Hurry back,” She replied.

JJ made sure to say goodbye to Spencer before leaving. 

“Do you need anything?” Rossi asked gently.

Emily swallowed hard at the question. She wasn’t used to being asked questions without a terrible outcome, but luckily Reid didn’t hear it. He was always the one to face the response.

“A bath.” She replied. 

“I’ll go run you a bath, my dear,” Penelope announced, quickly shuffling to the bathroom beside their bedroom.

Emily grabbed on to the counter and walls as she tip-toed to the living room, turning the corners to make sure nobody was there. Hotch quickly rushed to her side to help her onto the couch beside Reid and proceeded to give them space, stepping back out into the kitchen but making sure to keep an eye on them.

“I’m getting a bath.” She announced.

He slowly nodded, gazed locked onto her face, “Do you want me to be there?”   
  
“Yes. I don’t think I can deal with anything without knowing you’re okay.” She replied. “I need to see you’re okay.”   
  
“I know.”

“I don’t want anybody else to see me like that. I know Garcia already has, but I don’t like it.” Emily swallowed back the lump forming in her throat.

“I’ll help you, then you can help me.” His voice was lowered to a hushed tone, “Nobody else has to see us like this.”

“How can I help you, Spencer?” She asked, quieting her voice as well and glancing to her hands.

“Just by being there.” He simply replied.

Her brows pulled together, “I want to help you. I know how you feel and I know how painful it is to do things on your own. But I can’t help you do things like that because those stupid -” She abruptly stopped, taking a deep breath before she got carried away.

He gently set his hand overtop the thick gauze on hers. “It’s okay. I just need you to be there.”

Emily sighed, nodding her head. She wished she could do more for him.    
  
Soon enough, Garcia came into the living room, “Your bath is ready, my sweet Emily Prentiss.”

Spencer got off the couch and helped Emily. Garcia guided the both of them into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. She knelt on the floor and got both of their soaps out from underneath the sink and placed them on the sides of the huge bathtub. It was perfect for a bubble bath - but she didn’t want the bubbles to irritate her wounds so she left the lukewarm water plain.

“Is it okay if it’s just Spencer and I in here?” Emily asked.

“Of course,” Garcia immediately replied, “I can leave the door open a smidge in case you need help.”

Emily nodded and Penelope walked out and down the hall to meet with the men. Morgan placed his hands on top of her shoulders and held her close.

“It’s going to take some time for their attachment issues to subside, you know,” Rossi spoke.

“I know,” Garcia replied.

“We just need to respect their boundaries. If they don’t want help, they’ll seek it from each other.” Hotch said, “We can’t force them to do anything outside their comfort zones just yet.”   


Spencer pulled her sweater over her head without making her have to raise her arms. He undressed her carefully, making sure not to brush any stitch or abrasions. He knew it wasn’t best to leave her gauze on in the bath, but he didn’t want her looking at her most brutal injuries, so he left them on. He grabbed her wrist and helped her into the bathtub.    
  
The water against her skin was the best feeling she had experienced in a while. She sank into it, leaving everything below her chin sunken into the substance. She cracked a smile, giving Spencer reassurance. Strands of dark hair matted in dirt and dried blood smoothed out and flowed around her peacefully. The water turned a small hint of red, but neither of them cared.

Spencer dipped his hands in the bath, forming a cup with his hands and pouring it over her hair. He repeated the process several times until he found that it was completely cleaned. 

The gauze around her hips unraveled. She reached down to pull wrap off and threw it onto the floor outside. She didn’t look, she had learned her lesson about that. She took her bandaged hand out of the bath and rested it out of the edge.    
  
Spencer took a bar of soap and ran it up and down her left arm, as gently as possible. She took the soap from him and raised it to her nose just to smell it. Reid gave her some privacy as she washed her body, leaving her side to stare outside the door. If she needed to, she could open her eyes and see him.

He sat down, crossing his legs and picking at his nails just as Emily did when she’s nervous. Eventually, he crawled back to her side. Her face was submerged now, besides everything from the nose up. He cleaned her hair gently. 

“This is nice.” She spoke softly.

Spencer hummed in response, beginning to wash the soap out. A soft knock on the wall startled both of them, but Emily didn’t move from her spot. Reid turned to see Garcia, facing away from the crack in the door so she didn’t intrude.

“Just seeing if you need anything.” She said.

“We’re fine,” Emily replied.

“Alright. Jayje will be here in a few minutes with your burn and welt treatments that you can put on after a bath. I brought some extra gauze just in case.” With that, she tossed a roll in. It bounced off the floor and into Reid’s lap.

Garcia walked back down the hall and into the living room where the rest of them sat.

“One of these guys had to have spoke up about something since they were locked up,” Morgan stated, head pulsating with a stress headache.

“They must be doing it in secluded areas with no cameras. We have to wait for their report to come back.” Hotch said, reading Emily and Reid’s treatment plans, “They need their bandages changed morning and night.”   
  
“Reid is able to help Emily, at least, but she’s limited. He’s not good with other people touching him.” Rossi responded, reading the paper over Hotch’s shoulder.

Garcia sighed, “I don’t think they want our help. Especially not with injury-related things.” 

“On our walk at the hospital, the kid opened up to me a little bit. He didn’t tell me what happened, but what he did to cope.” Morgan felt his heart drop and he blinked back newly forming tears, “He holds my arm sometimes, I think he’s doing good with me.”   
  
“You two had a good bond before. Try to build it back up again.” Hotch said.

Morgan nodded, “That’s all I want.”

JJ returned from the pharmacy, caring a paper bag with their medicines inside.

“Where are they?” She asked as she walked into the living room.

“Bathroom. I don’t think they want to be bothered.” Garcia replied.

“Alright.” JJ rubbed her red eyes as if she was just crying, “I’ll search the kitchen for something to make them.”   
  
Hotch followed her into the kitchen, noticing her sad expression. She reached into the cabinet and pulled out two cans of soup.

“JJ, are you alright?” He asked.

She grabbed the can-opener and nodded, “I’m okay.”   
  
“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah,” She insisted. “I had a breakdown in the car. I just needed a good cry. I can’t wrap my mind around this yet, you know?”   
  
“I understand. Remember what I said in the beginning. If you can’t handle anything, you can always take a step back. Your health matters, too, JJ.”   
  
“So does yours. You haven’t gone home or even taken a break since their case re-opened. You’ve been re-wearing the clothes in your go-bag. Have you even slept?”

Hotch pursed his lips and nodded, “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. And I wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t true, okay?”

“It’s okay to admit you’re not fine, Hotch. None of us are fine right now.”   
  
He watched as she poured the soup into a pan before replying.

“I meant that I don’t need to go home or take a break. Beth is looking after Jack and I’m perfectly fine re-wearing clothes.”

JJ set the pan on the stove and started it, placing a hand on her hip and looking at Hotch with watery eyes.

“I get that. You don’t want to leave them.” She quietly said.

He stared at his shoes and swallowed hard.

“The last time I left them, they were tortured for three months.” He replied, beginning to lose his composure. “And I couldn’t find them. They were counting on  _ my  _ team to save them and the only reason they’re with us right now is because the men who abducted them took them to a hospital. If it weren’t for that, who knows what -” His voice broke, cutting off his sentence.

“Hotch,” She started, bringing a hand to his arm and rubbing her thumb back and forth on the material, “This isn’t your fault. It’s nobody’s fault.”   
  
“I just wish I found them. That the case never went cold.” Quickly, he wiped a tear that had escaped from his eye.

“We all wish that. But there was nothing we could do at that point.” JJ started to cry as well, “They’re back now and they’re healing.”   
  
Hotch cleared his throat, “I feel like I failed them.”   
  
“You didn’t. The team did everything we could. There was nothing to go off of except for a crime scene. You know as well as I do that cases like that never get solved.”   
  
He didn’t reply. JJ patted his shoulder comfortingly before he pulled himself together and walked back into the livingroom without another word.


	10. Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: some pretty insensitive descriptions about the abduction which could be triggering.

Spencer helped Emily out of the bath, wrapping a towel around her small body. He drained the water and filled it up for himself as she sat in the corner, shivering. Lukewarm water quickly filled the tub and he turned his attention from the bath to Emily. He grabbed a roll of gauze and wrapped it around her hips. However, he couldn’t bring himself to change the gauze on her hand. She noticed his uneasy stares and understood.

“It’s okay, Spencer.” She whispered. “You can go get somebody to change it.”   
  
“Can you come with me?” The last time he left her, he returned to her sobbing uncontrollably.

He secured the towel over her chest and held her good hand as they walked through the hall. They entered the kitchen, finding JJ stirring a pot of soup. She heard their feet slap the floor behind her and turned around.

“Are you alright?” She asked, dropping the spoon on the counter and approaching them.

“Can you help me with my hand?” Emily asked, her voice shaky with nerves.

JJ nodded immediately, “Of course. I’ll go get your medicine, alright?”   
  
They watched her walk into the living room and grab a paper bag. They waited for her to arrive before following her back into the bathroom. The bathtub was already full, so she turned the water off before helping Emily down on the toilet lid. Prentiss and Reid stared at each other as JJ began to unravel the gauze.

The blonde noticed that her wrist was still swollen significantly. There was a bit of dried blood on her skin, but everything seemed to be okay. JJ felt nauseous just thinking about the fact that her hand was cut off. She only hoped she hadn’t been awake during that torture. She wrapped fresh gauze around it before revealing two ointments to them.

“This one is for welts, this one is for burns. If you need help with them, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be right outside if you need anything, alright?” JJ assured. “Do you need anything right now?”   
  
Both of them shook their head, so JJ smiled at them before heading down to the living room. 

“Can you keep an eye on their soup?” She asked and rushed back to the hall, leaning against the wall.

Spencer gently rubbed treatment across her welts, eyes darting from her skin to her expression to make sure she didn’t wince. Once it was done, he put burn treatment on her finger and turned around to get undressed.

He heard her let out a hiss through her teeth but didn’t turn back around. He knew she was alright and wanted to continue to give her privacy. 

Reid was able to clean himself and allowed Emily to put treatment all over his welts. JJ changed the gauze around his torso and checked on his stab wounds to make sure they were okay.

“Once you’re dressed, there’s some soup for you in the kitchen. You can take your antibiotics with it.” JJ stated, slowly shutting the door until it was only a crack open.

Spencer helped Emily put her clothes back on and leaned on her as he put his own on. 

“I don’t like wearing this.” He whispered, tightening the strings of his sweatpants to secure them on his hips.

“Me neither.” She agreed.

They walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Rossi poured soup from the pan into small bowls and placed a spoon in them as they swallowed their medicine.

“You can eat in the living room if you want.” The Italian suggested.

Reid followed Emily to the couch, sitting next to her. Their bodies appeared stuck the way they clung to each other. Garcia brushed Emily’s hair gently as she sipped on spoon-fulls of her meal.

“How’s the soup?” Morgan asked in hopes of sparking a normal conversation.

“It’s nice, thanks,” Emily replied, flashing a quick, half-hearted smile.

“Are you sore?” Rossi asked, “I can get you some ice.”   
  
Emily shook her head, while Reid didn’t respond. He didn’t have the energy to talk, so he stared at his lap and ate his soup.

He was clean, yet he still felt  _ so  _ filthy. Seeing Emily’s hand being cut off was one of his last memories with them. It caused him to shiver. He had never in his life seen the things he was forced to watch when he was abducted. Even after a decade of searching for serial killers and visiting gruesome crime scenes. It was even worse since it was Emily who he saw get tortured. He didn’t know what to wish for. To die, but leave Emily alone, or to continue with life, but live with the things he saw and went through.

“Reid,” Morgan called out, trying to shake him from his trance.

He shook away the thoughts and turned to the hand on his arm. It was Emily’s. Then, he looked up to see Morgan. His eyes revealed worry. Spencer realized he was shaking in fear. His heart pounded quickly against his chest and he felt light-headed.

“Are you alright?” Morgan asked, taking the bowl out of his lap and handing it to JJ who stood behind him.

He let out a few, quick nods. He couldn’t stop himself from shaking, no matter how hard he tried. His jaw felt tight and his entire body ached. Reid wrapped his trembling arms around Emily, digging his face into her collarbone and letting out loud, uncontrollable sobs.

Everybody seemed to be taken back a bit by the sudden outburst. They were expecting it, but actually facing it was a different type of pain. Nobody had ever seen Spencer so upset, but they also had never seen either of them with so much damage. It was a new and unwanted experience they wished they never had to go through.

Emily rubbed up and down his back as he began to hiccup through his cries. Garcia hid her face into Morgan’s chest, covering her ears. She couldn’t bare to see him like that. Eventually, his sobs died down. He let go of Emily and sank into the couch cushion. When he saw all eyes on him, he quickly looked away towards Prentiss.

“I want to be alone,” He whispered into her ear.

Emily nodded, clearing her throat and turning to JJ. Without any words, the blonde knew what was going on.

“Here, I’ll show you your room.” She said, helping Emily off the couch.

Reid grabbed onto Emily’s arm, standing to his feet. They held on to each other as they followed her down the hall and into a bedroom. The scent and sight was familiar - they realized their belongings were in there.

It was a comforting reaction that JJ had hoped for. Reid climbed into bed, bringing his comforter below his nose and closing his eyes. It gave him a taste of how his life was before the abduction and that’s all he wanted back. Emily joined him and they met in the middle. She couldn’t bring herself to look at the photographs just yet. She didn’t want to know what she looked like before.

“If there’s anything you want me to bring in here, let me know,” JJ said.

“Thank you,” Emily replied quietly.

JJ smiled and walked out of the room, making sure to leave the door open.

“Is he alright?” Garcia asked, standing from her spot on the couch.

“He’s trying to sleep right now. They both liked the fact that we brought their things over,” She happily replied.

Garcia let out a sigh of relief, “That’s good.”   
  
“The doctor said they’ll sleep a lot,” Hotch reminded, “I’m sure they’re exhausted.”   
  
Morgan shook his head, “This is killing me. The fact that Reid and Emily are still in pain and some of those guys are walking the streets. I know how hard it is when your demon is still out there. You turn corners like somebody’s out to get you and you can’t just shake off the mindset because they could damn well be around that corner. They deserve justice.”   
  
“We’re going to give them that, Morgan. No matter how long it takes us.” Hotch replied.

“At least they have each other,” Garcia said quietly, twiddling with her fingers.

Morgan flexed his jaw before replying, “From what the kid told me in the hospital, they were always together when they were tortured.” He sharply inhaled, “They  _ watched  _ each other get tortured. That’s the worst form of it. I want every last one of those sons of bitches in prison, suffering, and getting their asses beat every second of the day because it’s what they deserve!”

When nobody said anything, he continued, “And you can bet your ass that I’m not sleeping until they’re suffering!”   
  
“I’ll go make us some tea,” JJ got up from her spot, taking Garcia with her into the kitchen.

“Morgan, you have to stay calm. You know how personal cases get when we let them get the best of us.” Hotch said softly, leaning forward in his chair.

“How are you not letting it get the best of you?” Morgan asked, furrowing his brows.

“The director could easily send their case to another unit if they think we’re out of control,” Rossi stated.    
  
“You’re damn right I’m out of control,” He lowered his voice, maintaining his angry tone, “They were beaten and stabbed, Rossi. They were _ raped _ . Two-hundred and seventy-three men. We’ve never dealt with something like that before. And I never wanted to, either. Not with my best friends.”

Rossi and Hotch couldn’t agree more. However, they couldn’t let the team be destroyed once again with personal emotions. To the director, that impaired their ability to work. The case would be moved to another team and they would be left anxiously waiting for answers. 

“I know.” Hotch quietly replied.

“Just promise you’ll keep your cool while we’re working. One outburst could lead to us being forced to drop the case. That’s the last thing we want.” Rossi added.

“I will, I promise.” Morgan agreed.

“If you ever need a break, don’t hesitate to ask.” Hotch reminded.

“I’ll take a break when they’re all in pris-” Morgan was interrupted by Hotch’s cell.

“Sorry,” He apologized before answering the phone. “Hotchner.”   
  
“Aaron, we’ve got something,” Strauss said on the other line.

“What’s wrong?” Hotch fearfully stood from the couch.

“Somebody just came into the office saying they know everything about the Dr. Reid and Agent Prentiss case. They’re in interrogation now and I’m not letting anybody talk to them until you do.” The older woman stated.

Hotch’s eyes widened and he nearly dropped his cell, “We’re on our way now.”   
  
As he hung up, the other two men stood with him.

“What happened?” Rossi asked.

“We need to get to the office now. Somebody came in saying they know everything.” Hotch said urgently. “Morgan, I want you to stay here with Prentiss and Reid.”

“What? Why me?” Morgan desperately wanted to go.

“We can talk about this later, please just stay here!” Hotch pleaded.

Morgan nodded. He understood. They didn’t want his emotions getting in the way. Besides, he could be able to make sure Reid and Prentiss were okay.

Hotch and Rossi ran into the kitchen. Garcia raised a confused brow as JJ placed a tea bag into boiling water.

“What’s going on?” Penelope asked.

“We need to go, now. I’ll explain in the car.” Hotch rushed out of the front door.

The women exchanged glances. JJ turned off the stove before meeting up with the other three.

Hotch was tempted to turn his sirens on and speed down the road, but he had to maintain his emotions the same way he told Morgan to. They arrived to the BAU quickly, cramming into the elevator to go to their floor. It seemed like everything was moving in slow motion and time couldn’t go any faster. As soon as the elevator doors opened, all four of them ran into the interrogation section, Garcia separating off to grab her spare laptop in her office.

They stood outside the room, watching the man pick at his nails. His eyes darted back and forth as if he was paranoid.

“Dave. I want you to go in first.” Hotch ordered.

Rossi nodded, watching the man for a few more seconds. Just as Garcia returned, he entered the room.

“I’m Agent Rossi.” He introduced, sitting down across from him and folding his hands.

Outside the room, JJ opened a notepad to write down any important information. Hotch made sure the audio was being recorded from inside the room, and it was.

“What’s your name?” Rossi asked.

“Peter Ambrose.” He quickly replied, his breath shaky.

“Why did you come in today, Mr. Ambrose?”   
  
“I keep having these nightmares.”

Rossi arched a brow, “Nightmares?”   
  
“I see their faces every night and it won’t stop unless I come forward, right? Their ghosts want me to come forward.” 

Rossi realized he had thought they were dead and haunting him. He didn’t deny it, though, making sure this man gave him every last bit of detail in hopes of saving his own ass.

“Right,” Rossi said. “Let’s start at the beginning. Were you there when they were abducted?”   
  
“Yes,” He nodded. “It was nighttime. Me and my two friends were looking for some people to fuck around with for a couple nights. We had no intentions of killing them, I swear!”   
  
“Alright, go on.”   
  
“We found this scrawny kid and a woman walking down the street. So, we got out and fought them. Turns out, the woman puts up one hell of a fight. We all liked that. The boy didn’t last very long. He was knocked out pretty soon. We got them both unconscious and threw them in our car.”   
  
Rossi hated how he was dehumanizing them by not saying their names. He knew he knew their names, but wasn’t using them.

“We drove to Baker’s factory and used zip ties to restrain them to a pipe in the building. We took off their clothes and waited for them to wake up. The woman woke up first. She was so confused at first, we laughed,” He chuckled, remembering her expression before clearing his throat and continuing. “She asked us what we wanted over and over and  _ over!  _ Then, we took turns punching her. The man woke up and he was so scared! We laughed at him and he just fucking  _ demanded  _ us to let the girl go!”

“And why didn’t you?” Rossi was furious, but couldn’t let it show.

“We just wanted to mess with them for a few days. But, anyway, when he demanded us to let the girl go, he was acting all ballsy. So, we kicked his ass and had sex with him a few times, while Baker forced the girl to watch.”   
  
Outside, Hotch nearly fell to his knees. JJ pressed the bridge of her nose and Garcia had to leave.

“Don’t get me wrong, we messed with the girl too afterward, we just didn’t want to risk getting her pregnant.”    
  
Rossi swallowed hard and nodded, “Alright.”   
  
“Afterwards, we were going to put their clothes back on, but we found an FBI badge in the woman’s shirt pocket that we had misseed while taking them off. So, we left that there and took them to Owens’ abandoned factory. His was fenced in an isolated area, nobody ever comes down there anymore. So, we decided to tie them up.”   
  
“And you didn’t let them go because they were FBI agents?” Rossi asked.

He nodded, letting out a sharp, shaky exhale, “Right. We couldn’t risk that kind of thing. So, we continued to beat them, fuck them, beat them some more. This went on for exactly twenty-five days until we realized they were too weak to survive much longer. We left them alone for about a week, giving them some food and water.”   
  
“That’s a nice thing considering you put them through all of that,” Rossi observed.

“It was my idea, out of the goodness of my heart.”   
  
Rossi nearly rolled his eyes.

“After that week,” He started back up, “We got bored. We didn’t want to kill them, but we wanted more of a spice to it. So, we paid people to come down and do whatever they wanted, just not kill them. I watched them get beat up and fucked nearly twenty-four hours a day for about five days straight until we invited more people and that’s when they started to stab them, which was a problem because we didn’t want them to bleed out and die. So, we found a man with medical background who was also into this sort of thing and invited him. Every so often, he would come up, stitch them up, clean wounds, and have sex with them.”

Hotch fell to his knees outside the interrogation room, grabbing fist-fulls of hair and gritting his teeth in pure rage. JJ covered her mouth, eyes widening. She was too frozen to do anything at that point. Penelope had left the hall minutes before and Rossi gripped the fabric on his pantleg tight, wishing it was that man's neck instead.

“We didn’t have to pay him, he insisted that we don’t. Anyways, some days it would get overcrowded and we were afraid they would die so we wouldn’t hold the event. We would feed them and give them water occasionally. But the days they were left alone by the other men, they would still get a taste. Eventually, they became so weak that we could take them out of the ropes and do whatever we please inside the fence because they couldn’t get out of our grip. I could feel their pulse pounding in their wrists and neck. Their skin was always dry and their hair was dirty, but I didn’t care.”

“The event?”   
  
“Yes. That’s what we called it when we invited the others over. Everybody would get in line and watch as they waited their turn. Except for when Luke Jackson came, then they would be separately taken into the factory. We could listen to her screams, though. Luke rarely ever messed with the boy, and if he did, it was to finish what he started with the girl. Eventually, we formed a schedule. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, everybody was invited over unless we stated otherwise. This went on for two and a half more months. Until we invited a new person over and he cut the girl's hand off. I can remember it so well. I can still see the blood squirting out of her wrist as her hand fell to the grass. The boy screamed, the girl screamed and cried so hard until she went in and out of consciousness.”   
  
“What did you do about it?” Rossi asked.

“We couldn’t do anything. We didn’t want her to die, so we wrapped their areas in gauze and took them both to the hospital because we figured it would give us more time to play with them after they were discharged. We promised them we would come back. But, more and more of us were captured over time, which wasn’t the plan. The plan was that - no matter what happened if we were caught, we demand to see them because we knew they would never allow that. And if that didn’t happen, we would just remain silent. We weren’t planning to get caught at all. We figured they were too traumatized to talk because at one point after the two-month period, they stopped talking to each other. We burned any evidence as well. But, now that they’re dead, we can’t come and get them again. They’re getting me.”   
  
Peter Ambrose’s demeanor changed into something horrified, “They’re haunting me, Agent Rossi! They’re going to kill me if I don’t do the right thing!”   
  
“You are doing the right thing, Mr. Ambrose.” It pained Rossi to say that. “Are you finished with your confession?”

“Yes, sir.” He nodded.

“Alright, I just need one more thing from you and you will be free of the ghosts.” 

“I’ll do it, anything!” He urged.

Rossi pulled out a folded piece of paper with a list of names already on it and handed him a pen, “Give me all of the names that you don’t see on there.”   


He nodded, and without hesitation, began to write.


	11. Truly

Morgan tip-toed into the bedroom, listening to Spencer’s soft snores. He was in a deep sleep, but Morgan could tell he wasn’t dreaming. Reid talked when he dreamt. 

Emily remained awake, staring at the ceiling. Tears fell down the sides of her head and even with Morgan’s arrival, she didn’t move. He softly approached her, sitting on the edge of the bed and wrapping his fingers around the three of hers that weren’t broken.

“Emily,” He spoke smoothly.    
  
She shook her head, “I can’t stop crying.” She breathed out.

“It’s okay. Let it out, sugar.” Morgan assured.

“I can’t sleep anymore. I want to, but I’m so scared I’m going to have a bad dream.”

“You’re safe now, Emily. I will never, ever let anything happen to you again.” Morgan brought his fingers to her hair, brushing them through her wavy dark locks.

She sharply inhaled, “Did you think I was dead?”

“No. You were presumed dead but we all knew that wasn’t true.” He paused, “Emily, I couldn’t lose you. I thought I lost you once, I couldn’t do it again.” He blinked back tears.

“I’m sorry,” She whispered.

He shook his head, “It wasn’t your fault. Don’t you ever think it was your fault.” 

“If I wasn’t leaving for London, this would have never happened. If I had just taken you out first instead, maybe we wouldn’t have been -” She couldn’t finish her sentence - she had gotten too choked up.

“This is not your fault, Emily. You couldn’t have known this was going to happen.”    
  
“I could’ve fought harder. I had chances to escape and I never did. I was so tired, Morgan. I was so tired and I couldn’t move.” She cried.

He had used all his strength to prevent himself from crying, “Don’t blame yourself. This wasn’t your fault and this wasn’t Reid’s fault. The ones at fault are the ones who are going to be locked up in prison for the rest of their sorry lives.”

He felt Emily’s fingers wrap around his and she asked, “Does it truly get better over time?”   
  
“I promise,” He nodded.

“When?”

Morgan sighed. It took him years and years to recover from Carl Buford, and still, it hurt. He couldn’t imagine the type of pain they were in, but he had a taste and wished they never had to experience it.

“I’m not sure.”

She cried, “I want it to be over.”

“I know, Em,” He blinked back tears once again, “But we’re all going to help you two get through this.”   
  
There was silence for a few minutes before Emily spoke again, her voice shaky.

“I know Spencer imagined we were back at JJ’s wedding sometimes when we were left alone. But I couldn’t.” Emily had to take a deep breath before continuing, “I couldn’t, Morgan. I couldn’t remember what Spencer looked like before it all. I can’t see him the way he was before we were kidnapped. It kills me. I can’t even look at myself because I’m so afraid I’ll be the same way with Spencer and I need to hold on to the way I was before-”

Morgan cut her off, “Emily, listen to me. The bruises will fade away. The stitches will dissolve, the cuts will disappear. You don’t  _ need _ to do anything. If you don’t want to look in the mirror, don’t. If you can’t remember the way Reid looked before, that’s okay. It’ll come back to you. You know how trauma victims are, you have a way of blocking out memories to protect yourself. I think if you did remember the way he looked, it’ll only make you more upset right now. You’ll remember when you know you’re ready.”   
  
“I realize I can’t remember a few things from the time, but I know Spencer does. He counted everything. Each new face, each time we were fed, every single day we were gone. I know he remembers everything and that is so much worse than forgetting.” She turned to look at him and he remained sleeping.

“I know.” Morgan chewed on his cheek to distract himself from bursting into tears.

Emily turned back to Derek, “If I could take all his pain away and put it on myself, I would.”   
  
“I wish I could take away both of your pain.”   
  
“I shouldn’t have decided to go to London. I should’ve given myself time and stayed with the BAU. I was going to leave you guys. For how long? I don’t know. But I was going to  _ leave _ you and I regret that so much. Every day I regretted that decision. That decision led to ruining Spencer’s life. I can’t stop thinking this was my fault.” Tears flowed down her face.

“You had no idea this was going to happen, Emily. You were leaving for a good reason and nobody was mad at you for making it.” Morgan assured, but Emily wasn’t buying it.

She kept her mouth shut, though. No matter how many times they tried to talk her out of it, she couldn’t stop blaming herself for all the damage inflicted on Spencer. Abruptly, Morgan’s phone began ringing, waking Spencer with a panicked jolt. He immediately threw his arms around Emily for comfort, staring into her eyes to calm her down.

“What happened?” Morgan answered.

“We got a full confession from one of the men,” Rossi replied on the other line.

“What? How?” He asked in utter shock.

“He thought they had died and were haunting them. It was awful, Morgan. He told us every detail. It was the best decision to keep you here. I have good news, though.”   
  
“Well, don’t keep me waiting, Rossi!”

“We’ve got a full list here. We’ve sent SWAT teams to get the last of them. They’re all gone, Derek.”

Slowly, his lips turned up into a smile. He hung up his cell and turned to his friends, laying tight knit in the bed. They appeared confused at his sudden grin.

“What happened?” Emily asked.

“We got them all.” Morgan simply replied, which was enough to cause Emily to smile.

She turned to Reid, “It’s over!” She exclaimed, loudest he’s heard her talk.

Spencer cracked a small smile, feeling overwhelmed by the joy he felt in his heart. He wasn’t sure what to do. His hands shook with happiness, grabbing onto her arm to stop them but he couldn’t stop trembling. 

“How do you feel?” Derek asked.

“Like I can finally breathe,” Emily replied, relieved.

It was silent for a few minutes - nothing but smiles all around. Eventually, the happiness died down and Spencer spoke up.

“Can you take me to a payphone?” He asked.

Morgan arched a brow, “Why?”   
  
“I need to talk to someone.” 

“If you want to see your mom, I can -”   
  
“No, I don’t want to see my mom. Not just yet.” His voice softened, suddenly shy to discuss the topic, “I just- Please take me to the phone?”   
  
Morgan nodded, “Of course.”   
  
He glanced out of the window. It was still daylight out and figured he should wait a few hours to take him outside to avoid human contact. Though there was a phone just across the empty street and Spencer seemed anxious.

He was able to climb out of bed himself while Morgan helped Emily to her feet. Each one grabbed his arms to assist them as they walked through the large mansion and out the door.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone.” He quietly suggested.

“I’ll be right here,” Emily whispered into his ear.

He let go of his grasp on Morgan and looked both ways before crossing the road. He had found a quarter on the sidewalk. Before, he would never touch a dirty coin, but now he didn’t mind. He slipped it into the slot and picked up the phone, dialing the number that never left his memory, no matter how many times he was beaten to the point where thoughts couldn’t be processed.

Spencer only hoped she would pick up, that she wasn’t dead. Before he was abducted, he met a woman named Maeve and for the first time in a while, experienced a love different from the love he felt about his team or his mom. It was a romantic relationship, but there was a downside to it. She was stalked. No matter how many times he tried convincing her to let him help, she wouldn’t accept. Now, with the men gone, his only fear was whether or not she was gone as well.

“Hello?” Her soft, dulcet voice answered.

He was too shocked to reply at first but remembered that if he didn’t answer soon, she would more than likely get scared and hang up.

“Maeve-” He choked out.

It was her turn to be riddled silent.

“Spencer, I-” She seemingly stopped holding her breath, “Oh, my God!”   
  
“Please, I just need to hear your voice right now.” Tears welled up in his eyes and his lip began to quiver.

“I thought-” She was tripping over her words, but he didn’t care. “Oh, my God, Spencer, I missed you so much!”

“I missed you, too.” He replied.

“How are you doing? I mean - Oh, God, Spencer, I’m so sorry this happened!” She exclaimed.

He bit his lip, screwing his eyes shut before replying, “I’m good. It’s over. How are you doing?”   
  
“The stalker is gone, I think. After you-” She paused. “When our phone calls stopped, the stalker went away about a month later. Spencer, do you want to talk about it?”

“Not right now.”   
  
“Okay, of course. I’ll always be here if you need to talk. I missed hearing from you. Don’t hesitate to call, alright?”

“I won’t.” A wave of shame fell over him and he found himself disgusted at the whole event - especially knowing that Maeve had heard what happened to him. “I need to go.”   
  
“Remember, I’m always here for you.”   
  
“I know. Bye, Maeve.”   
  
“Bye.”   
  
He hung up the phone and trailed back across the street. Normally, Morgan would tease him for his secretive ways, but decided not to push him. He seemed upset, despite the fact that tears were no longer running down his cheeks. His mood had changed in a few minutes.

“When is JJ coming back?” Emily asked as they walked back inside.

“Soon,” Morgan replied.

Emily loved her entire old team, but she trusted JJ the most. They had surely been through thick and thin and if she knew anybody was going to protect her, it was JJ. She felt uncomfortable with her absence.

“Are you hungry? I’m not much of a chef, though.” Morgan asked.

Spencer rested on the couch, Emily right beside him. She nodded, while he didn’t reply. He had gone quiet once again, staring ahead blankly and letting his head fall against Emily’s shoulder.

“I got some applesauce here.” Morgan grabbed a cup from the counter and tossed it in the air a few times.

He grabbed two, just in case Spencer decided he wanted to eat, and set it in front of them with a spoon on the coffee table. Emily grabbed hers and quickly downed it. Now that eating was a regular thing, she was hungry. 

Soon enough, the entire team returned to Spencer asleep on Emily’s shoulder. The raven-haired woman rested her feet on the table and watched TV with low volume, accompanied by Morgan.

They nearly came in celebrating, but finding Reid peacefully sleeping caused them to quiet down. JJ knelt in front of Emily before giving her a one-armed hug so that Spencer wouldn’t be disturbed.

“I’m happy for you.” She whispered.

“Thank you, so much. All of you.” Emily smiled.

“We should have a picnic in the yard tomorrow to celebrate!” Garcia exclaimed quietly.

“Does that sound good?” JJ asked.

Emily nodded, “Thank you.”   
  
The team gathered on the couch, watching the TV. Spencer’s soft breathing was louder than the show, but nobody minded. The entire case was unlike anything they’ve ever done. It was stressful from the very beginning and continued to be stressful even after Emily and Spencer were revealed to be alive. The day they were deemed dead was the very day the BAU fell apart. They had gotten so awful, nobody wanted to join. They had options, but the team’s success rate gradually went down. Eventually, they got a hold of themselves but only after they had lost all their options for replacements. Either way, they didn’t want a replacement.

Nobody could ever take Spencer or Emily’s place. It was an impossible role to fill. They always knew just how important they were to the team and once their backbones were gone, it was impossible to get back the way they used to be. It was an unexpected turn in their life they never ever wanted to face. However, there was no going back in time, so the best way to ever gain back the normality of the way it used to be was to give them time, and lot’s of it. Unfortunately, they grew impatient. They had gotten them back, but did they truly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short-ish chapter but im baaaaackk!! sorry for the long wait, school got in the way, and it will continue to as I go into hybrid learning. sorry if you don't ship spaeve, but I really needed to give spencer some sort of outlet/happiness. emily is doing great, and I figured I would throw in maeve just to give reid SOMETHING!


End file.
